Once hailed as a 'miniature Manhattan', Canary Wharf's new status as a migrant hotel flashpoint has been seized upon as evidence of its decline.
The decision to house hundreds of illegal migrants in the heart of East London's banking district has prompted a furious reaction from locals, with some complaining of feeling too scared to leave their homes.
Protests are taking place outside the four-star Britannia Hotel almost daily, with the recent arrest of one of its residents for walking into a woman's home doing nothing to ease tensions.
In a bid to reassure the public, a Home Office spokesperson told Daily Mail that 'we will always do everything in our power' to ensure foreign nationals who commit crime in the UK face deportation once they have completed their sentence.
Still, the latest incidents come at a difficult time for the finance hub, which has seen a series of major firms announce plans to leave amid a post-pandemic drive towards working from home.
