Council accused of housing prisoners in Hammersmith Premier Inn

HMP Premier Inn?

This from the hospitality industry trade mag The Caterer, Richmond Council was accused by the Newsnight programme recently of housing a young offender who was on remand in the Premier Inn hotel in Hammersmith! You know, the one with the bar almost opposite the Town Hall. 

Richmond Council were furious with the report, understandably enough since they say it was completely false. And Premier Inn say they have no evidence of it happening. 

Cllr Geoffrey Samuel, according to the Caterer, deputy leader for Richmond Council, admitted that from time to time the council might "utilise a variety of types of accommodation with support from outreach workers," he slammed the allegations that Richmond Council had placed a young person on remand in the Premier Inn in Hammersmith as "misleading and incorrect."

He added that further to Newsnight's initial inquiry, the council did not state or confirm anyone on remand had been placed in the hotel. Samuel said: "Newsnighthave chosen to come to that conclusion themselves and in so doing they have come to the wrong conclusion."

So the report was wrong - but intrigued by the "variety of types of accomodation with support from outreach workers" - what does that mean? It might be that post-riots the local hotel trade might be seeing an upsurge in bookings now the prisons seem to be full.