London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Britain's most controversial landlord offers to house asylum seekers

Britain's most controversial landlord offers to house asylum seekers

Fergus Wilson, who tried to ban 'coloureds' from his properties, has gone to Priti Patel with the offer to sell four blocks of flats in Kent belonging to his wife Judith (pictured together).

Britain's most hated landlord who has been accused of racism has offered to house asylum seekers - but only if the government pays.

Fergus Wilson, who tried to ban 'coloureds' from his properties, has gone to Priti Patel with the offer to sell four blocks of flats belonging to his wife Judith.

The 72-year-old sparked outrage in 2017 when details of his policy were leaked, revealing he had banned people due to the cost of removing the smell of curry.

Mr Wilson, a multimillionaire, also blocked 'battered wives' and single mothers from renting his properties.

And he was in trouble again at the start of this year when it emerged he had allegedly told council workers to kill themselves.

Britain's most controversial landlord Fergus Wilson (pictured with his wife Judith) who has been accused of racism has offered to house asylum seekers - but only if the government pays

Mr Wilson, who tried to ban 'coloureds' from his properties, has gone to Priti Patel with the offer to sell four blocks of flats belonging to his wife Judith.


He made the offer to sell some of the Kent properties to the Home Office this week but said 'no figures have been mentioned yet'.

Two blocks are at Littlestone, New Romney, with the landlord claiming to have seen asylum seekers coming ashore. Another is in Folkestone and one is in Wateringbury.

In an email, the Home Office responded: 'Thank you for your email correspondence to the Home Secretary and your offer of accommodation.

'Your correspondence has been passed to the relevant business area, and they will be in contact with you in due course.'

Mr Wilson's suggestion, which he claims to have also made to Kent County Council, comes as the number of people crossing the Channel spirals, passing 2020's total.

More than 10,000 people have so far made the perilous trip.

The 72-year-old (pictured with his wife) sparked outrage in 2017 when details of his policy were leaked, revealing he had banned people due to the cost of removing the smell of curry


The Home Office has come under increasing pressure to get a grip on the crisis, with hundreds of people risking their lives to navigate the world's busiest shipping lane.

They come on flimsy boats acquired by criminal gangs and ill-suited to the 20-mile stretch.

Charities last week upped calls for more safe routes, in the form of centres in Europe where refugees can go to claim asylum in Britain.

And Kent County Council has been feeling the strain more than most.

The authority is responsible for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children but has no more room and has threatened to sue the government for failing to help.

Meanwhile the Home Office has resorted to using hotels, as well as the much-criticised Napier Barracks, to house new arrivals.

Mr Wilson, from Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone, was arrested last week after allegedly assaulting a council worker.

He claims he called the Maidstone Borough Council employee a 'petty little Hitler' but vehemently denied his suggestion such a comment was racist.

He said he was later released without charge but Kent Police has refused to comment on the situation.

Mr Wilson was also in court in February amid claims he told council workers to kill themselves as part of an nine-year 'campaign of harassment'.

Ashford Borough Council, in Kent, applied to the High Court for a permanent injunction against him.

The court heard how legitimate inquiries would turn to him repeatedly belittling, insulting and abusing council workers as he tired to get his own way.

He has found found himself in the public eye numerous times over the last decade, notably in 2018 for butting heads online with comedian Danny Hyde and in 2017 when a court overturned his racist practice of banning 'coloured' tenants.

Mr Wilson and wife Judith once owned the largest portfolio of properties in Kent - believed to be around 1,000.

The High Court is yet to give its finding in the case between Ashford Borough Council and Mr Wilson.

The Home Office and KCC have been approached for comment.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
UK Reaffirms Military Support for Ukraine Despite Russian Hybrid Warfare Threats
UK Technology Sector Expands Nearly 8 Percent as Digital Industry Outpaces Wider Economy
UK Drought Threatens Harvests Across England and Wales as Food Inflation Risks Persist
UK Government Pledges 442 Million Pounds to End Rough Sleeping by Christmas
UK Government Signals Willingness to Reconsider Digital Services Tax Amid US Tariff Threats
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9 Percent as Energy Costs Threaten Economic Recovery
NHS Hospitals Cancel Surgeries as Extreme Heat Pushes Ward Temperatures Above 40 Degrees Celsius
UK Heatwave Forces Emergency Measures as Wildfire Risk, Hospital Disruption and Drought Intensify
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
UK Marks Ten Years of Night Tube as London Weekend Usage Exceeds Eighty-One Thousand Journeys a Night
Met Office Issues Thunderstorm Warnings Across Northern Ireland Over Flash-Flood Risk
Frasers Group Raises Stake in Hugo Boss to Nearly Forty-Eight Percent
Scottish Clyde Marine Pilots Prepare for Strike That Could Disrupt Glasgow and Greenock Shipping
×