Trapped in limbo: the refugees holed up in a St Albans hotel

I can tell instantly by their body language what their position is there. There are several hotel security staff who are very in our faces and looking worried. I put my hands up with open palms and smile. Two of the men seem to be assured by our presence. "Are you from the Home Office? Can you help me?"

A notice on the door reads: "Unfortunately our whole hotel is privately booked so we cannot have anyone enter the hotel." Having been contacted by members of the public about booked events cancelled without explanation, we decided to investigate what was happening at the facility.

The notice on the door to reception at the Noke Hotel. (Image: Matt Adams)

After confirming that the building is being used to house refugees from various different countries, we explain to the gathered crowd that we are from the local newspaper and just wanted to check that conditions at the hotel were okay. I ask a man who identifies himself as Bazhat a series of questions via a translation app.

He tells me he is from Iran and has been at the hotel a year. He says that he has to be in by 11pm and that the food is not good. Another man tells us he is from Iraq and is there with his wife and children.

At the same time as we are talking, the security staff are getting closer and closer to us and it is a good job we are not easily intimidated. I ask them what they are worried about. That we are not there for anything bad. They tell us: "Media are not allowed in." I reassure them that we do not want to go in. We are just checking what the situation is due to recent speculation on social media.

Back in June 2021 the Herts Ad reported that the building was being used as a quarantine hotel for travellers returning from countries on the government's Covid red list, with everyone arriving in England from one of these nations having to spend 10 full days in quarantine.

Exactly when this provision ended is unknown, but the current function of the Noke has been open to speculation for many months.

It was the latest rumour which prompted a visit to the site. Posts on social media conspiracy pages suggested the hotel was being used by the government as a training facility for young soldiers taking part in a future conflict.

One member said: "I'm down there today to see for myself. I can't stand people who say it's just refugees - why would they even keep them there that long?"

"I've now concluded with a small amount of research that we are in a war that we should not be involved in - just like Iraq. There are NATO troops in our country just like other European countries because this year Europe will be hit hard and I can see martial law coming in... These are trained fighters with weapons beyond our imagination."

It was a wild theory, completely without basis in fact, but if a handful of people were speculating, then we considered it was worth clarifying the real situation.

I ask the hotel staff is there is a plan for the residents to move on. I question the men living there about whether they have people coming in to update them or support them, such as a housing provider or government worker. They tell us they do not. Staff said it is expected the hotel will remain closed for at least six months.

They seemed vulnerable, desperate for answers and not sure what the future holds.

Asked about the ongoing situation at the Noke, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay which is why we are recruiting more decision makers and improving our use of digital technology to simplify case working and speed up processing times.

“But some cases can be more complex and take longer to process, such as when applicants have complex needs, safeguarding issues, are extremely vulnerable or have a modern slavery claim. We therefore take full consideration of these facts when progressing an asylum claim, which can lead to longer waiting times.