ASLYUM seekers are to be moved out of a hotel near Colchester months after concerns were raised that they were subjected to “a shameful lack of care”.

Last November the Gazette revealed the Holiday Inn Express, in Birchwood Road, Langham, was being used as a safe haven for about 100 Afghan male refugees.

Earlier this year concerns were raised over the welfare of the refugees, including the quality of food on offer.

Harwich and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin said he has now been given confirmation by the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, in the House of Commons that the north Essex hotel will no longer be used to as accommodation for asylum seekers.

Sir Bernard Jenkin said: “I am delighted by this news.

“People object that those who may turn out to be illegal migrants are getting hotels paid for by the government.

“The government has been listening and improving the system.

“The minister was reporting that illegal boat crossings from France are down by a fifth this year and that the backlog of asylum applications is speeding up.

“The government is also finding more suitable accommodation for asylum seekers.

“This means that the need for the Home Office to requisition hotels is being cut back.”

Mr Jenrick announced in the Commons yesterday that the number of hotels used to house migrants will be cut by 50 over the next three months.

Labour MP Stella Creasy accused the Home Office of ejecting refugees from their temporary hotel accommodations with merely a week’s notice and “no assistance”.

Mr Jenrick rejected her claims, saying the Home Office’s policy is to give 28 days’ notice, and highlighted that once granted asylum, refugees have access to benefits and employment opportunities.

“Everybody who is granted asylum has access to the benefit system and can get a job,” he told MPs.

Earlier this year Colchester Council leader David King spoke out against the treatment of asylum seekers.

He said: “Those seeking asylum deserve decent places to stay and there is much about this Holiday Inn Express which makes it a decent place.

"But my concern is the absence of consistent medical care, a lack of support and the uncertainty everyone staying there has to live with because the process is broken.”