Video shows St Peter's Square homeless camp eviction as refugees feel 'kicked like a football'

Manchester council staff evicted dozens of tents in a dawn operation on Wednesday morning (February 26) after a civil court granted the authority a ‘possession order’ earlier this month, allowing it to retake its land outside the town hall. Some tents were thrown into a bin lorry, but the council insists they were already abandoned.

Camp residents, mainly refugees, were handed plastic bags for their belongings as bailiffs ‘knocked on’ tents and instructed those living in the camp to leave. But some have re-established the camp outside the Midland Hotel, just metres from the original location.

They include Modsher Mohammed, a 30-year-old man who came from Sudan, and 46-year-old Eritrean Omar Osman.

“He is tired, he just wants to go back to his country,” Omar said on behalf of Modsher, translating Arabic. Modsher added via the translator: “Where are the human beings? They say work. How can I work if I do not have a house?”

Modsher must now call outside the Midland Hotel home, with his new neighbours including noisy trams and extraction fans for one of the city’s most iconic places to stay.

Omar, who can speak five languages, is homeless in a car park in another part of the city centre. He’s been in Manchester for 10 months, but has bounced around Oldham, Lancaster, and Darwen.

“Most of us are not from Manchester,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “We came from smaller cities and then we came here. We have the right to live here.

“[The council] just told us to rent private housing… they should help you. They kick you like a football, we are just in the same circle.”

What Manchester City Council said about St Peter’s Square dawn evictions

Manchester council has confirmed the court order used to evict the tents ‘was specific to St Peter’s Square’ and not any wider area ‘to ensure it was reasonable and proportionate’. However, a spokesperson added ‘we remain clear that such encampments anywhere in the city are not in anyone’s best interests and are not a suitable place from which to access support.’

A council statement issued hours after the evictions said: “The court order instructing people in the St Peter’s Square camp to leave the area was carried out successfully this morning.

“This brings to an end the encampment which has been in place there for several months, with fluctuating numbers, occupied by people who are refugees who have been granted the right to remain in the country.

“We have conducted homelessness assessments for people camping there and offered temporary accommodation to everyone who we owed a statutory duty – anyone classed as vulnerable and in priority need. Others on site who were not classed as vulnerable were still offered advice and support, including a personal housing plan, to help them secure accommodation for themselves.

“People were given the choice to pack up and take their tents with them. The only tents which were disposed of were ones which had been abandoned.

“We would reiterate that help is at hand for any Manchester resident facing homelessness. The Council’s homelessness service works hard alongside a fantastic network of voluntary and community sector organisations in the city.

“But as we have consistently stated, this informal camp in St Peter’s Square was not a safe, sanitary or suitable place from which to access support. Nor does camping in a public space accelerate their homelessness application or gain them any other advantage.

“We have had a number of issues in keeping the area safe, secure and clean – as we saw in the run-up to Remembrance Weekend and New Year’s Eve events. The presence of the tents has also impacted on the day-to-day delivery of services from the town hall extension, including hindering evacuation in the event of an alarm.

“We’re glad the issue at this location has been addressed and would stress that help is available through established procedures for anyone who finds themselves facing homelessness.

“The possession order was specific to St Peter’s Square – and the issues there – to ensure it was reasonable and proportionate. While those specific issues have now been addressed, we remain clear that such encampments anywhere in the city are not in anyone’s best interests and are not a suitable place from which to access support.

“We will continue to engage with the people in the tents and monitor the situation.”

The Greater Manchester Law Centre, which represented camp residents in the court case, has been contacted for comment.