PROTESTERS were harassing occupants and staff while attempting to break into a hotel housing refugees in London, police confirmed today.

Demonstrators gathered outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf on Sunday, waving England flags and chanting “stop the boats,” amid a surge of far-right protests over the weekend. 

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that one group was “harassing occupants and staff” and made “concerted efforts to breach the fencing and access the hotel.”

Forces ordered them to leave and not return for 28 days, but said that “if a different group wishes to protest in the vicinity of the hotel, they are not banned from doing so.”

The Met said officers intervened after flares were set off in the crowd. 

At one point, a man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker after an officer was pushed.

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said: “Let’s be clear — the people in this hotel, and other accommodation sites, have come to the UK hoping to find their safe place having survived unimaginable horrors like war and persecution. 

“It is deeply worrying that a minority, whose presence in the media far outweighs their support, are intent on subjecting them to this race-fuelled hate.

“Last year’s race riots came to an abrupt end when people took the streets to show solidarity, showing the far right just how outnumbered they really are. 

“In many parts of the country, that’s happening again but we need more of it.

“Wherever these so-called ‘protests’ pop-up, we need people who find this hate abhorrent to counter it.”

Anti-refugee protests and counter-demos faced off in Newcastle, Manchester and Islington at the weekend.

Scotland Yard said plans were in place to “respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum-seekers.”

More demonstrations are planned in the week ahead. Anti-fascists will mobilise outside the Cresta Hotel in Altrincham, Highfield House Hotel in Southampton, and Potters International Hotel in Aldershot on Friday, all at 5.30pm.

Further counter-protests are planned outside the Richmond Hotel in Liverpool starting at noon, the Mercure Brigstow Hotel in Bristol at 11.30am and the Roundhouse in Bournemouth at midday.