Migrant rights defenders across the United Kingdom are facing an increasingly hostile environment. These community organisers, grassroots activists, service providers, campaign groups, and charities are on the front line of support for some of the most marginalised people in our society. But their work to uphold the rights and dignity of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees is being undermined by a far-right ecosystem that seeks to delegitimise and silence them.

Drawing on our experiences supporting migrant rights defenders across North America, East Africa, and Eastern Europe, Open Briefing has been examining the threats to defenders in the United Kingdom. It is a complex picture: direct attacks from extremist groups and local agitators are compounded by the enabling environment created by hostile media, online influencers, and political figures.

The risks are real, varied, and growing. But there is much we can do together to strengthen organisations, protect their people, and build the resilience needed to endure and resist.

The threat landscape

Migrant rights defenders must contend with a wide spectrum of adversaries in the United Kingdom. The far-right threat spans from the populist radical right to the violent extremist and fascist fringe, with the boundaries between these categories frequently blurred.

• Far-right extremist groups such as Patriotic Alternative and its splinter groups, Britain First, and remnants of the English Defence League, who engage in harassment, vandalism, and intimidation, including occasional physical attacks.
• Opportunistic local actors – lone individuals or ad hoc protest groups who carry out graffiti, threats, or threatening visits to offices and asylum accommodation.
• Insider threats from disgruntled or hostile staff, volunteers, or contractors, who may leak sensitive data or attempt to disrupt operations.
• Far-right influencers, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (“Tommy Robinson”) and other high-profile activists on both sides of the Atlantic, who spread disinformation and mobilise demonstrations.
• Hostile media outlets and commentators such as the Daily Mail, Daily Express, and GB News, who amplify anti-migrant narratives and put migrant rights defenders in the firing line.
• Populist political figures, including Nigel Farage and Reform UK and Laurence Fox and the Reclaim Party, who mainstream anti-migrant rhetoric through electoral politics and mass media.
• Far-right adjacent think tanks, including Migration Watch UK and Policy Exchange, who lend policy cover to anti-migrant narratives.

Other actors not directly linked to the far right but still of concern include state-linked adversaries targeting diaspora communities in the United Kingdom and opportunistic cybercriminals exploiting weaknesses in the IT systems and online accounts of charities and community groups.

The risks in practice

From this landscape, we see seven main risks emerging:

1. Demonstrations, vandalism, or physical intimidation by extremist groups.
2. Coordinated harassment and doxxing – the intentional revelation of a person’s private information online without their consent – by online far-right communities.
3. Reputational attacks through hostile media coverage and op-eds.
4. Leak or misuse of sensitive information by disgruntled or hostile insiders.
5. Threatening calls, graffiti, or harassment by opportunistic local actors.
6. Staff attrition and burnout from sustained hostility and exposure.
7. Hostile legal complaints, including strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and spurious referrals to the Charity Commission, brought by political figures, hostile media, or adversarial local councils.

These risks affect migrant rights defenders in different ways. Extremist groups remain the most visible danger. Demonstrations, vandalism, and intimidation outside offices, events, or asylum seeker accommodation can quickly escalate and create real fear for staff and beneficiaries. Hope not hate reported that in 2023 more than a hundred anti-migrant demonstrations took place across the United Kingdom, and “a record number of far-right activists and sympathisers were convicted of terror offences.” The practical response is straightforward: conduct security assessments, tighten access controls, and prepare contingency plans for hostile visitors or suspicious mail. Building strong networks of local allies can also help organisations feel less isolated when targeted.

Online harassment is now a constant reality. Coordinated trolling and doxxing by far-right influencers and their followers are among the most frequent risks migrant rights defenders face. These incidents wear staff down and can spill over into offline threats. Training staff, volunteers, and board members in digital hygiene; scrubbing personal information from public records; and preparing holding statements can reduce exposure and enable quicker, calmer responses.

Reputational attacks through hostile coverage are also common. Media outlets hostile to migration issues can damage donor confidence and influence public opinion, even if they stop short of outright misinformation. Here, proactive media strategies, trusted journalist relationships, and active monitoring are key.

Other risks come from inside an organisation. Insider threats are less likely, but their impact can be severe – a disgruntled or hostile staff member, volunteer, or contractor leaking sensitive beneficiary data, for example, could create safeguarding crises and reputational fallout. Careful vetting, role-based data access, and a culture that encourages concerns to be raised internally are the best safeguards.

Not all threats are so deliberate. Sometimes it is the drip-drip of opportunistic hostility – threatening phone calls, racist graffiti, or a lone agitator outside the office – that wears staff down. These incidents can be managed with simple protocols, better site security, and crucially, psychosocial support for staff who experience them.

And that leads to perhaps the most insidious risk of all: attrition and burnout. The cumulative effect of harassment, intimidation, and public hostility – compounded by high workloads and vicarious trauma – is that staff burn out, take sick leave, or leave altogether. This hollowing out of organisations can be as damaging as any physical attack. Embedding wellbeing into incident response, rotating high-exposure roles, and making counselling and peer support available can help protect both staff and the organisation.

Finally, migrant rights defenders also need to be alert to hostile legal complaints. These may take the form of SLAPPs, spurious referrals to the Charity Commission, or threats of legal action from populist politicians, hostile media outlets, or even local councils and private contractors. Such cases can drain time and resources and chill advocacy. Having a legal retainer or access to pro bono support, clear response protocols, and robust governance and communications frameworks is the best defence.

Building resilience

The threats facing migrant rights defenders are not going away. They are likely to intensify ahead of the next general election, as migration remains both a flashpoint in the culture wars and a rallying point for radical right politics. And, as City of Sanctuary UK points out, “Increasing humanitarian and climate crises mean there will be more people seeking sanctuary.”

Defenders need to invest now in strengthening their protection and resilience. That means:

1. Take a holistic view. Physical safety, digital resilience, and collective wellbeing are connected – you can’t address one without the others.
2. Prepare, don’t just respond. Risk assessments, contingency plans, peer support networks, and secure devices and accounts will reduce the impact of attacks.
3. Build solidarity. No organisation withstands sustained hostility alone – local alliances and peer support are protective.

The right approach will depend on the specific risks each organisation faces. But our experience shows that priority actions often include:

• Conducting security assessments and contingency planning for offices and events.
• Training staff in digital hygiene and enforcing strong authentication across all online accounts and IT systems.
• Supporting wellbeing and collective care through peer supporter programmes and counselling retainers.

What funders can do

The far-right threat is an ecosystem. Right-wing media generate and amplify anger, giving cover to radical right politics and emboldening violent extremist and fascist fringe groups – creating a climate of fear that the media feed on and feed into. Funders must recognise this chain and resource responses across it.

Right-wing funders have long invested strategically in their causes. Progressive funders must do the same if we are to defend migrant rights and build resilient organisations and movements. That means:

• Fund organisations properly. Provide multi-year, unrestricted grants so charities can build resilience and look after their people – without this foundation, everything else is fragile.
• Fund trusted intermediaries. Support those who can move resources quickly and safely to community organisers and local charities, reaching places individual funders cannot.
• Fund trusted providers. Support infrastructure organisations like Open Briefing that provide much-needed protection, digital resilience, and wellbeing support to migrant rights defenders.
• Fund social leaders and progressive voices. Invest in the individuals shaping policies, crafting narratives, and building communities that counter hate and division.
• Fund progressive media. Independent, accurate journalism needs resources to counter decades of dominance by right-wing outlets spreading false and misleading information.
• Fund artists and cultural organisers. Creative and subversive cultural work undermines the far right in ways harder to silence, and reaches people beyond traditional politics.
• Leverage your influence. Most importantly, use your power and privilege to shift narratives, convene conversations, defend migrant rights organisations, and challenge hostile political and media actors.

Looking ahead

At Open Briefing, we are ready to support migrant rights defenders in meeting these challenges. By combining physical security, digital resilience, and collective care, we help them withstand threats and continue their vital work defending the dignity and rights of all migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.

If you are a migrant rights defender, charity, or a funder working in this space and would like support, please contact us.

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