Police investigating how addresses were targeted by anti-migrant protesters in Thetford have arrested a man in his 60s.
The man was arrested on 7 August 2026 on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and assisting an offender as part of an investigation into how information about the homes was shared.
Tensions flared in Thetford, Norfolk, last week when homes linked to asylum seekers were targeted, with many forced to flee, and police officers were assaulted.
Several people were arrested after the three nights of unrest, including a teenager on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.
Protesters attempted to enter homes where they believed asylum seekers were living and some residents had to be led away by police.
The homes are believed to have been used by Serco, a firm contracted by the Home Office to house migrants, the BBC reported.
A Serco spokesperson told The Independent: “We’re actively supporting the police with their inquiries. This is an ongoing criminal investigation and we’re unable to provide additional details at this time.”
A spokesperson for Norfolk Police said: “Officers are investigating how information was shared which led to a number of addresses being targeted in Thetford during the disorder.
“A man aged in his 60s was arrested on 7 August 2026, on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and assisting an offender. He was taken to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning. He has since been released on bail until 14 October 2026.”
The protests took place after the Home Office submitted an urgent application to turn a nearby Suffolk military base, RAF Barnham, into accommodation for asylum seekers. Multiple protests have been staged outside the base, which could be used to house up to 1,250 people.
In one video from last Wednesday’s unrest, which shows dozens of people facing up to a line of police officers, someone can be heard shouting: “They don’t want the white man anymore. They want us all gone, they wanna swap us. It’s predicted by 2050 that the f****** white man’s going to be a minority.”
Other footage posted on social media appeared to show five men being escorted from the houses by police as an angry crowd booed and shouted “get out”.
Norfolk county council is led by Reform UK, and local councillor Scott Hussey said on Facebook that a “group of young male asylum seekers” had been moved into a three-bed terraced house by the Home Office.
He said that the house was “on a family estate, right next to a primary school”, and that council leaders would be writing to Norfolk’s chief constable for an urgent update.
Labour MP Terry Jermy, who represents South West Norfolk, condemned the “ugly scenes”, saying the violence “would have been utterly terrifying for the people in these properties”.
