Labour councils have been blasted for a “betrayal of trust” after it emerged they were providing a host of luxury services to asylum seekers, including Arab-language yoga classes.
The London councils were seen to be funding the services despite skyrocketing bills for residents of the nation’s capital.
In Islington, north London, the Labour-run council paid for migrants to attend yoga classes, delivered in Arabic, as part of Refugee Week in June.
The authority has also spent an eye-watering £500,000 on storytelling, woodwork, and barista tutorials for the asylum seekers.
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Walking tours of the local area that extolled the history of migration were also provided for the individuals.
Funding for these programmes was siphoned from the leftover cash of the Homes for Ukraine and Afghan resettlement fund.
Elsewhere in the capital, east London’s Newham council has been bankrolling asylum seekers’ trips to the beach.
Lewisham council opted for free Pilates and therapeutic art sessions for the migrants.
Labour-run councils have been blasted for luxury spending, including yoga classes
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At Camden Town Hall, in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s own Holborn and St Pancras constituency, free haircuts have even been provided for asylum seekers.
GB News has approached each of the London councils for further information on the matter.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blasted the various Labour-controlled councils' spending as a “betrayal of trust”.
“Families who follow the rules face spiralling bills, while those with no right to be here get free community perks,” he fumed.
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Islington Council is one of the authorities seen to be bankrolling the programmes
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The councils defended the various programmes as a means of helping migrants feel more welcome in Britain, per The Sun.
The latest disclosures come as it emerged Southwark Council had organised a football game between competing migrant hotels as part of the Labour authorities' efforts to become a "borough of sanctuary".
The football match, held in June last year, was followed by a barbecue and Eritrean coffee served for free.
It was seen to be providing housing, education, health, and financial support services, and "embedding a culture of welcome" for all new asylum seekers, regardless of their immigration status.
Southwark Council was previously found to have set up a football match between migrant hotels
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Jason Vincent, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lead for Millwall Community Trust, said: "It was important to be able to bring together the players who were able to meet for the first time and play football."
The Southwark Sanctuary Framework, which is set to run until 2027, also saw the council promise to lobby Labour to remove restrictions which stop asylum seekers from working before they are granted refugee status.
Currently, asylum seekers are banned from working for at least the first year of their claim.
However, Southwark council said: "[We will] lobby the Government to reform, [ensuring] people are no longer blocked from fully participating in society for years while they wait for their status to be resolved."
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