Watch: Bosses of hotel firms making 'huge profits' from taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation quizzed by a Shropshire MP
Hotel firms who are "raking in huge profits" from taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation have come under fire from a Shropshire MP.
Shaun Davies, MP for Telford, said the profits made by companies providing asylum accommodation "belong to the public", but are instead sitting in corporate pockets.
Mr Davies recently quizzed directors from three major providers, asking how much they are making and when they plan to repay the Home Office through profit-sharing agreements.
Two companies that receive taxpayers' money to house asylum seekers in hotels, Clearsprings and Mears, said they would hand back some of their profits. Under contracts that were signed by the previous Government, the companies must pay back any profits of more than 5 per cent, the BBC reported.
Steve Lakey, managing director of Clearsprings, told Mr Davies that the firm had £32 million "ready to go", but was "waiting" for approval from the Home Office before the funds could be released.
Meanwhile, director of health and safety compliance at Mears, Jason Burt, said his company expected to pay back £13.8m.
