FORMER first minister Humza Yousaf has hit out at the escalating rhetoric against asylum seekers, saying that he fears "predatory men who come in every colour" when it comes to his daughters' safety, not "asylum seekers".
Earlier this month, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick wrote a piece in the Daily Mail, headlined: "I care more for my daughters' safety than the rights of foreign criminals. That's why I support every peaceful protest outside an asylum hotel".
The statement comes as the UK Government is working on contingency plans for housing asylum seekers after a court ruled that they should be removed from a hotel in Epping, Essex.
Ministers are now bracing for further legal challenges from councils across the country.
In a direct response, Yousaf said that the Tories are "deliberately trying to fuel hatred" through fear.
Jenrick also told the Telegraph this week that he wanted “every single illegal migrant in this country” to be deported, and that included not only those arriving on small boats, but also those who have arrived in lorries or claimed asylum after landing at airports.
In the video posted to Instagram, Yousaf did not name Jenrick but shared an image of the Daily Mail article, and hit out at his rhetoric around asylum seekers, warning that it fuels division and puts vulnerable people at risk.
“The Tories are telling us that we have to protect our children from asylum seekers," Yousaf said. "Well, as a father of three girls, let me tell you that it's not asylum seekers I'm worried about when it comes to my daughter's safety. It's men, predatory men who come in every colour, every religion and from every background.”
He stressed that those who commit crimes must face justice, regardless of background, adding: “Of course, those who do commit heinous crimes against women, be they asylum seekers or those who have lived in the UK for 10 generations, they should and must feel the full force of the law.
“But when you purposely single out asylum seekers, as the Tories are doing, you're not interested in protecting women, you're deliberately trying to fuel hatred. You're reviving the old colonial lie that people from the east are somehow dangerous savages.”
Yousaf warned of the consequences of such rhetoric, citing previous instances where "peaceful protests" developed to setting hotels housing asylum seekers on fire, like in Rotherham in 2024.
“This isn't just rhetoric. We've seen exactly where it leads. It turns fear into mobs who are ready to set fire to hotels that are housing asylum seekers. It leads to bricks through windows, it leads to firebombs aimed at vulnerable families who've already fled war and persecution.”
He added that violence against women is a universal issue, not one tied to asylum seekers, and warned against falling for the "oldest populist trick in the book".
"And here's the truth. Violence against women is committed by men from every walk of life. Blaming asylum seekers doesn't make women safer. It just makes society more divided, more suspicious, more willing to turn on the most vulnerable.
“What the Tories are doing isn't about women's safety. It's about stoking fear. It's the oldest populist trick in the book. Let's make sure we don't fall for it.”
The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March.
This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier.
New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June.
