Protests outside hotels hosting asylum seekers have intensified in recent weeks, prompting a renewed challenge for authorities.
In Epping where there have been several disturbances, Essex Police have been accused of giving preferential treatment to counter-demonstrators, an accusation the chief constable has denied.
With Reform MPs and far-right figures calling for further protests, a number of incidents took place in other locations including Leeds, Portsmouth and Southampton on Friday night.
The protests in West Yorkshire saw a number of people gather outside the Britannia Hotel in Seacroft where asylum seekers are being housed.
Police say the incident passed off peacefully but there have been angry claims made on social media that footage from the protest has been ‘censured’.
The claims appear to relate to video of a man being pinned to the ground by multiple police officers and arrested.
After it was published on X by a user called @KieraDiss some people found they were unable to view it.
Instead they were met with a message which said: “Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age.”
There have been claims of censorship over protest footage disappearing from X (Photo: X)In response, Kiera Diss blamed the Online Safety Act which came into effect on Friday.
“We are already seeing the impact on Free Speech,” she claimed.
“My earlier post displaying police brutality involving 6 officers arresting a single male at the NO to Mass Immigration protest in Leeds has been heavily censored across the platform with thousands of users being blocked from seeing the content.
“Why is this? Is this now the end of Free Speech on X?”
Her concerns were echoed by a number of others including Annunziata Rees-Mogg, a prominent journalist and sister of the former Conservative minister.
She wrote: “I’ve no idea if anything is going on in Leeds tonight or not but: The Online Safety Act, effective by July 2025, may be censoring violent protest footage in the UK, as noted in related posts, with Ofcom enforcing rules that could limit access to such content, raising questions about free speech versus public safety.
“We live in a police state where the police have never been so mistrusted.”
Police say they have not been involved in ‘censure’
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police told The i Paper it is “not true” that the force was involved in censuring footage from the protest.
X has not responded to a request for comment.
However, a response from the platform’s AI Chatbot Grok suggests that X may have decided to remove the content automatically under the Online Safety Act under the provision which is designed to protect children from harmful content.
Grok said the footage being discussed “shows an arrest during UK anti-immigration protests on July 25, 2025, likely in Leeds or at an asylum hotel.”
“It depicts 6-8 police officers in yellow vests pinning a non-struggling man face-down on grass, with bystanders watching. Censored for UK users under the Online Safety Act due to violent content.”
The Online Safety Act sets a number of laws and duties that platforms must follow and are enforced by the regulator Ofcom.
They include the use of tougher age-verification processes to make sure anyone accessing porn websites is over 18.
People will have to verify their age to access porn websites under the Online Safety Act (Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire)However, Ofcom says the rules are intended to protect children from other damaging material such as content which is “misogynistic”, “violent” or “abusive material”.
It appears X has acted under these provisions in regards to the footage of a protester being arrested in Leeds.
‘In times of crisis, we may intervene more rapidly’
X, which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been under increasing pressure from UK authorities to act over its role in allowing disinformation and harmful content to spread online.
MPs from the Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee wrote to the platform earlier this year to ask what resources were in place during last summer’s rioting.
In its written reply, X said that it couldn’t go into detail about its enforcement processes as they are “sensitive” and could be used by “bad actors” to “circumvent platform rules and policies.”
However, the platform confirmed that it has at least 1,275 people working in moderation roles across the world.
X also said the during “times of crisis” it recognises that the potential for harm associated with online content “increases signifcantly”.
“Where such content and behaviour threaten the safety or security of our users, the public, and vulnerable populations, our goal is to mitigate the risk of harmful consequence,” their letter said.
“As such, we may intervene more rapidly and broadly than normal.
“While we strive to balance the rights to free expression, civic participation and privacy, we recognise that these could conflict with one another.
“If there is an instance of acute potential for harm, we may need to prioritise protection of physical safety over other considerations.”
West Yorkshire Police said: “A protest took place outside Britannia Hotel in Seacroft yesterday evening (25 July).
“The protest passed off peacefully with one man arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer.”
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