Bournemouth's council chief has sought assurances that asylum seekers will not be accommodated in Bournemouth again.

Bournemouth Borough Council chief executive Tony Williams said he has contacted Home Office officials after 150 asylum seekers sent to Bournemouth because of overcrowding in London left the town on Monday.

He said: “We have received assurances from the Home Office that there is no intention to use Bournemouth in the future for the placement of asylum seekers.

“We can confirm that we have been informed by the police that there was no anti-social behaviour or criminal activity during their stay.”

However, Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns said he was ‘far from satisfied’ with the Home Office’s assurances.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for them to come here,” he said.

“I’ve taken a lot of flack for my stance on it, but I absolutely stand by it and feel my comments have been misrepresented.

“Placing asylum seekers in hotels in Bournemouth as the tourist season comes to a close and the conference season begins is damaging.”

When the Daily Echo contacted the Home Office, a spokesperson said:“Our position is that we are not giving a running commentary on accommodation provided to asylum seekers. We don’t go into specific arrangements – we don’t give a running commentary on each individual incident.”

When told that Mr Williams had confirmed the group had left Bournemouth, he added: “They (the council) can speak for themselves and if they want to divulge that information they can.”

It is understood that 88 people were staying in the Roundhouse Hotel in Meyrick Road, with a further 67 accommodated at the Heathlands Hotel in Grove Road, East Cliff. The group was placed there as a temporary measure.

Many came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and had escaped violence and persecution. The Red Cross revealed yesterday that one elderly woman had been taken to A&E because she hadnt eaten for three days and that an Afghan boy believed the EDL demonstration outside their hotel was the Taliban coming for him. Read more here