UK: Woman Arrested After Migrant Enters Her Home

A woman “brandished a meat cleaver” at a four-star Canary Wharf migrant hotel after a suspected asylum seeker walked into her flat, a court has heard.

Channay Augustus, 22, appeared in court on Friday charged with possessing the weapon and assaulting a security guard.

She is accused of attempting to gain entry to the Britannia Hotel on Wednesday evening after a man believed to be living there was said to have entered the house of her mother, who is blind in one eye.

The man, who has not been named but is believed to be in his early 20s, has since been arrested on suspicion of common assault.

Thames magistrates’ court heard she discovered the man inside her mother’s flat located five minutes from the hotel.

After chasing the man away, she went to the hotel at around 6pm where she confronted a security guard who was trying to calm her down, the court was told.

She returned a short time later with a meat cleaver and started banging it on a metal barrier outside the hotel, the court heard.

She also shouted “f------ asylum seekers”, the court was told, before being later arrested at her home.

Ms Augustus was charged with possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault and possession of cannabis.

She was remanded into custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Dec 12.

Police initially took no action against the man who entered the flat despite members of the public detaining him.

Man appeared at the door

The family of the woman with monocular vision living at the flat have said she was left fearing for her life after the incident.

They said the man entered the house on Wednesday after being followed by a group of men who had told him to “go back to the hotel”.

A family member told The Telegraph the man had appeared at the door, which was left open for ventilation.

They said: “He literally walked in the door. He did not run, he was so quiet that she did not even know he was there.

“She turned around and saw him standing inside the house then she was saying to him, like, ‘You need to leave. Leave. Like, what are you doing’.”

The relative added: “We are private people, we don’t go to the hotel. We are just minding our business and that’s what’s annoying. That’s what’s annoying us, that something like this has happened because obviously, my mum’s really unwell, we are peaceful.”

Asylum seekers were moved into the Britannia Hotel this month after the Home Office earmarked it for use as migrant accommodation.

The hotel has been the site of regular anti-immigration protests and pro-migrant counter-demonstrations in recent weeks.

Asylum seeker in police custody

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “On Wednesday night, we released an initial statement following an incident where a man allegedly entered a woman’s flat. He was detained by members of the public nearby.

“Our investigation continued on Thursday, with officers carrying out extensive CCTV enquiries and speaking to witnesses.

“As a result of this, in the early hours of this morning – Friday, 15 August – we arrested a man in the Hackney area on suspicion of common assault. He is believed to be in his early 20s.

“We can confirm that this is the man who allegedly entered the flat. He is now in police custody.

“A 22-year-old woman who was arrested on Wednesday evening has since been charged with a number of offences. We can confirm that she is an occupant of the flat that was entered.”

The force added: “The alleged victim of the common assault is a security guard at the hotel, not the man who allegedly entered her flat.”