Asylum Seeker Controversy Hits Earley Hotel

New figures reveal how many asylum seekers are staying at the Best Western Moat House hotel in Sindlesham, within walking distance of Lower Earley.

The Moat House has been used to house people while their asylum claims are processed. Hotels have been used for this purpose since March 2020 as a coronavirus-era measure.

Responsibility for accommodating asylum seekers in the UK sits with the Home Office, which has a legal duty to house people who would otherwise be destitute. The policy was instituted by then Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel and immigration minister Kevin Foster.

Home Office data show there were 252 asylum seekers in hotels in Wokingham Borough in September 2025, and a further 10 people in other forms of accommodation such as houses of multiple occupation. The Best Western in Sindlesham has 129 hotel rooms.

The hotel has been the centre of controversy after Iranian rapist Amin Abedi Mofrad was placed there during his court case. Mofrad was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl at the Westgate shopping centre in Oxford in February 2024. He was staying at a hotel in Oxford at the time of the attack.

The Moat House has also attracted self-described “auditor” content creators who visit hotels being used for asylum accommodation and frequently get into confrontations with security staff. Channels that have been to the Moat House include 'TruthHurts101UK' and 'L Audits'.

The presence of asylum seekers at the hotel has caused concern in the Lower Earley community. Councillor Pauline Jorgensen (Conservative, Hillside), leader of the opposition at Wokingham Borough Council, said people had raised concerns about “asylum hotel residents harassing girls” on the doorstep. She mentioned this in a post while canvassing with Conservative activists in the Hillside ward on Saturday, February 7.

Caroline Smith, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Hillside elected in 2023 who will be defending her seat in the local elections in May, introduced a motion at a full council meeting in July 2023 for the borough to become a 'Borough of Sanctuary' to welcome people fleeing war and persecution.

At the time she said: “We recognise the potential contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to our Borough, and believe that a comprehensive, co-ordinated and forward-looking approach that promotes community cohesion is the best way to ensure the welfare of people moving into the Borough.

“We note and regret the suffering of refugees in the Home Office-sanctioned accommodation in our Borough.

“Their treatment is incompatible with ourvalues and values common to humanity.”

The motion was passed at the meeting.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter