The plight of asylum seekers living in substandard accommodation rarely excites national media attention here in the UK. But Wednesday’s front page story in The Times about asylum seekers’ front doors being painted red by their private landlord has been followed across the national media and provoked questions in Parliament.
Vulnerable tenants in deprived areas of Middlesbrough told Times reporter Andrew Norfolk that their distinctive red doors made them targets for racist abuse. “They described incidents including the smearing of dog excrement against doors, and eggs and stones being thrown at windows,” Norfolk wrote.
