by Nour Elshenawy & Fred Byrne.
The former and current Presidents of Aberdeen University eSports Society made controversial speeches at anti-migrant demonstrations last month, including at an asylum hotel by Aberdeen beach.
At least three anti-migrant rallies saw speeches by a duo of former eSports President and law graduate Lewis Carty and his younger brother Chris Carty, a business & politics student and current eSports President.
On August 2nd, protesters accumulated outside housing for asylum seekers on Links Road after the event had spread online. The protest saw chants against immigrants, a counter-demonstration and police presence.
A man sporting a MAGA cap punched a masked counter-demonstrater, and Police Scotland later charged two participants with assault and inciting racial hatred.
During the protest, student Chris Carty and his older brother Lewis spoke through a megaphone at antifascist counter-demonstrators.
In a published video, Lewis told counter-demonstrators: “I understand that not a single one of you have worked a day in your life, but do you understand money is not an unlimited resource – what, to house people who would kill us?”
Lewis labelled asylum seekers as “the antithesis of our very culture” who come to the UK “to get a GP, a dentist, a Gucci bag, and to rape your child.”
Chris Carty, the current eSports President, took to the megaphone to criticise the religion of Islam, telling counterprotestors “All of you [women] without hijabs, you’d be f**king stoned.”
“Why is the burden on my nation to be the only one that’s multicultural?” he said.
“Me and my brother live here,” he shared, adding that “zero women and zero children” are housed in the facility for asylum seekers.
Chris repeatedly addressed a counter-protester wearing a head covering: “Hijabi, can we see you hold the transgender flag real quick?” After the counter-protester wearing a head covering met his demands by waving the transgender pride flag, Lewis said “please uncover your face so we can show your parents.”
Anti-racist student activist Alex (not their real name) saw the action unfold, telling The Gaudie that anti-migrant hostility had been disorganised until the brothers began using megaphones:
“It was just a shouting contest until the students started leading. They shouted about demographic change and racial purity.”
For Alex, who lives near the accommodation, countering the protests was personal:
“It happened right on my doorstep. I was so focused on organising opposition to it that I even lost my job after missing a shift. But it was worth it: this is about solidarity with my neighbours, students of colour, and the refugees in that hotel.”
After about two hours of back and forth between anti-migrant protestors and their detractors, the megaphone used by the Carty brothers appeared to malfunction, and protesters dispersed.
Bigger anti-migrant protests on August 9th at Peterhead and Aberdeen saw heavier policing and a larger counter-demonstration, with the same duo speaking to crowds at both rallies.
Responding to questions about the incidents, both University of Aberdeen and its Students’ Union affirmed their stance against hate speech, but avoided commenting on specifics.
Antifascist activist Alex criticised what they see as institutional inaction: “BAME students who live in the area might not feel safe when these protests are going on. The university needs to show leadership.”
The Gaudie contacted the Carty brothers for comment, and eSports President Chris Carty replied that he had “nothing but positive” reactions from fellow students, adding:
“As a representative of younger people, the next generation of our great civilisation, I feel it is important that we are represented in all matters relating to our future. Criminality, housing shortages, deficient public health services and a loss of community will all affect the future of our lives. It’s time young people or ‘students’, stop being bystanders in their own lives and stand up for what they believe in, trust their eyes and ears and not be lulled into complacency and contentment.”
His older brother Lewis shared:
“It was not long ago that AUSA’s BAME forum urged students to avoid the beach at night because of men chasing and following girls home. This was when more migrants were housed in the beach hotel with increased activity.”
“I have spoken to hundreds of students who share my opinions. Many are too scared to say so publicly because of the vocal minority who try to slander their opposition.”
Lewis hopes to “bring light to the issues around migrant hotels, and the detrimental impact they can have on communities they are placed in.
“Some people say we should protest at government buildings instead. But had we only done that, this very article would not be written. Protesting outside the hotels themselves is far more attention grabbing. Their purpose is to raise awareness, not to intimidate. ”
Alex, however, believes the Carty brothers’ speeches amounted to hate speech and breached the University and Students’ Union codes of conduct. “The university risks being brought into disrepute if it does nothing,” they said.
Lewis responded to criticism of anti-migrant sentiment:
“I understand the humanitarian urge to help others; I feel it too. But kindness cannot extend to abuse of our systems by economic migrants, or to allowing people to commit crimes, behave aggressively, or refuse to integrate. I live 30 seconds walk from the migrant hotel by the beach.”
“Anecdotally, every single woman I know who visits the area avoids the migrant hotel due to them being incessantly harassed, and even followed, by groups of men from the hotel. It happened to both my ex and my current girlfriend – both Aberdeen University students – leaving them fearful of the area. This was not an issue prior to the migrant hotel.”
“Even if it is not vocally apparent in academic circles, a huge number of Brits oppose migrant hotels and mass immigration. Per YouGov polling, 71% of Brits have a negative view of people crossing the English channel in small boats to seek asylum in the UK – the circumstances under which a huge portion of those housed in migrant hotels entered the country – and 79% have a negative view of migrants coming to the UK illegally looking for work. [The poll] shows a stronger opinion than mere asylum system reform. I think it is due to great frustration towards our immigration and asylum systems.”
On one side, anti-racism activists argue that students at anti-migrant protests endanger marginalised groups and bring the university into disrepute. On the other side, the Carty brothers and their supporters say they are voicing legitimate concerns about safety and immigration.
Councillors from Aberdeen City Council condemned “false claims and hateful rhetoric that are threatening community cohesion” and urged protesters “to respect one another and to respect the rights of the people seeking asylum.”
As Police Scotland prepare for more rallies over the next weeks, University of Aberdeen and its Students’ Union face a difficult balancing act of defending freedom of expression while upholding their codes and combatting hate speech.
Student President Christina Schmid shared:
“AUSA does not tolerate any breaches of our Code of Conduct, including behaviour that could constitute hate speech or harassment. Our priority is to ensure all students feel safe, respected, and supported. Any student who witnesses or experiences a potential breach should report it, so that it can be properly investigated.”
Meanwhile, a University spokesperson said:
“The University seeks to foster a culture of dignity, respect and inclusivity for all while recognising that a diversity of views exists across our institution. We acknowledge the importance of freedom of speech and academic freedom within legal and ethical boundaries. However, this freedom does not protect hate speech or other forms of harmful or abusive conduct. All reported incidents are treated with the utmost importance and investigated fully in line with our Code of Practice on Student Discipline.”
For Lewis Carty, it is about speaking out despite backlash: “The more you research, the more difficult it becomes to accept the continued existence of migrant hotels.”
But for students like Alex, who reported the brothers to the University, the stakes are clear: “We need accountability, not silence.”
I’m surprised by the omission of the fact that both the Carty brothers have been banned by the police from attending anti-migrant demonstrations, as revealed by bail conditions they made public themselves. They are among eleven people charged with hate crimes, inciting violence and assault in association with demonstrations targeting asylum seekers in Aberdeen recently.
They’re also among a cast of bizarre and violent characters who have appeared at these demonstrations. The brothers appeared happy to stand right beside John Carr, an activist for the fascist Homeland party who outright said that he was indeed a fascist and called counter-demonstrators “race traitors”. Other characters include a far-right podcaster convicted for violently abusing two partners, a ‘priest’ who bought his title from an online church and was convicted for threatening to murder an MP, and a conspiracy theorist who frequently calls counter-demonstrators “mongrels” in reference to their perceived lack of racial purity.
As for the incidents of harassment near the beach, the BAME forum never connected these to asylum seekers housed in the area as implied by Lewis Carty. I’ve struggled to find any press reports or police statements about this crime wave. One would expect it would be easy for the police to catch suspects of known address who are already highly surveilled due to their asylum status, but apparently not. Or perhaps the connection is just scapegoating? While searching I did however see many articles about local white men found guilty of rape, stalking, harassment and abuse, none of whom seem to have provoked concerns about women’s safety from Aberdeen’s anti-migrant demonstrators. Stoking fears of ethnic minorities endangering women is an old far-right tactic.
The harassment at the beach is somewhat beside the point anyway, because the demonstrations weren’t prompted by those incidents. They began as copycat demonstrations following those sparked by a sexual assault committed against a minor by an asylum seeker in Epping, England, and indeed much of the vitriol directed at asylum seekers in Aberdeen is in the form of baseless accusations of paedophilia. It is not true that these demonstrations are innocent attempts to raise awareness. Asylum seekers – many of whom suffer from PTSD – have been left terrified and unable to go outside for hours at a time. Whenever an asylum seeker is visible, either at a window or entering the building escorted by the police for their safety, the crowd targets them with screams of “go home” or “paedo”.
At least the Cartys and I can agree on one thing: “The more you research, the more difficult it becomes to accept the continued existence of migrant hotels”. Conditions in the ex-hotels are miserable. I refer to them as ex-hotels to dispel the idea that asylum seekers are living in luxury.
The enormous costs of this system result from the Conservative government sabotaging our country’s ability to deal with asylum seekers, in the same pattern of selling off government assets and relying on profiteering corporations that has ruined other services. A more humane system, that processes claims faster and allows asylum seekers to stay with family or friends or support themselves by working, would be far cheaper.
Finally, some quick clarifications. Asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants: the UK is party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees which means however an asylum seeker enters the country is irrelevant. They are not economic migrants: a majority of applicants are successful meaning that the Home Office has seen evidence that returning to their home country would result in death, political imprisonment or worse. There is no data suggesting a link between ethnicity and sexual crimes (unless you believe debunked figures originating from a Reform led thinktank and promoted by Tory careerist Robert Jenrick): over a 100 women’s rights organisations, experts on fighting violence against women and girls, have condemned the demonstrations happening nationwide which are promoting this myth.
Bail conditions are imposed by the police in order to prevent further offences from occurring. These conditions were lifted within a week and had been lifted for around a month prior to this article being written. Despite your obsession with my brother and I, you clearly lack up-to-date information.
Others who attended a protest, of which attendance reached hundreds, do not reflect on myself or my brother. Numerous of your claims about those within the protest do not appear to be true, and indeed you make no attempt to substantiate them.
Those in the “counter protest” crowd wave the flag of a now domestic terrorist organisation in the US https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization and a member of the “counter protest” group is on camera admitting s*xual intercourse with a nine year old girl is wholly permissible – i.e., the outright condoning of paedophilia.
That said, I am responsible for only my own views and words – as an individual, and the same is true of you. Your attempt to discredit here falls short.
It was never claimed by myself that AUSA’s BAME forum connected the incidents of harassment to migrants housed at the beach hotel. I merely stated that these widespread reports of harassment I have heard coincided with when more migrants were housed in the beach hotel and activity there increased. Correlation does not equal causation, but it is an interesting observation. It is also true that both my ex girlfriend, and current girlfriend, have been incessantly sexually harassed by men from the migrant hotel by the beach. Given I live by the beach, so too have I heard numerous accounts from women who stay in the area, of similar issues.
A moment to address a technicality. An illegal entrant to the UK is referred to as an irregular entrant where they go on to claim asylum (even if they only do so after being found in the country illegally). Hence, the terms irregular and illegal entrant are essentially interchangeable, but – technically speaking – all illegal entry asylum claimants are “irregular”. Your point here does not somehow refute the concerns.
According to the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, small boat entries represent around 78% of all irregular entry asylum claims. Small boat entries make up somewhere from 30-40% of all asylum claimant entries depending on the year. Accordingly, up to around 51.3% of all asylum claimants entered the country irregularly/illegally. This is far from the fiction I have heard some counter protestors spout, with a claim that only 4% entered illegally. A figure they arrived at by disingenuously, or unknowingly, conflating figures for ALL immigrants with those of just asylum seekers. https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/unauthorised-migration-in-the-uk https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/people-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/
Your claim that “they are not economic migrants” is also unsubstantiated and sits at odds with reality. It is materially untrue to state that the vast majority of asylum seekers have genuine claims and are granted asylum in the UK. According to government data, Six out of 10, of the top 10 asylum seeking countries have below a 50% success rate in asylum claims at first instance (March 2025 data). https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2025/how-many-people-are-granted-asylum-in-the-uk Other government data shows, for example, Albanians, the 8th most asylum claiming nationality in 2024, with a grant rate of only 3% https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2024/how-many-people-are-granted-asylum-in-the-uk As a whole, in 2024/25, 47% were granted protection or other leave at first instance.
Even when including decisions on appeal, the grant rate does not change substantially. Per the House of Commons Asylum Statistics – September 2025 https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01403/SN01403.pdf between 2004 and 2021, an average of 76% of those refused at initial decision lodged an appeal, with a success rate of 33%. This would give us a total grant rate of 60.29%, including appeals. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403
However, in more recent years this has changed dramatically. In 2021, the latest data available, only 20.68% of those initially refused lodged an appeal, in 2020, this number was 20.51%. 23% of appeals were successful in 2021. Applying these figures to the earlier 47% success rate at initial decision statistic puts the total grant rate at only 49.53%. Limitations here exist, but a success rate of 49.53%, as a total including appeals, is accurate – when using the latest available appeal data. So, when people state that a huge portion of current asylum seekers are not legitimate refugees, they really do mean a huge portion. Evidently, more than half.
Furthermore, it is important to note that these grant rates also include “other leave” meaning not all of these successful applicants were actually given refugee status or humanitarian protection. A portion were only given temporary protection or leave outside the rules for example. Thus, the success rate for refugee status, amongst asylum claimants, is even lower than the numbers listed.
Given the Illegal Migration Act 2023 introduced stricter criteria for granting asylum to individuals who enter the country illegally, we can expect the grant rate at initial decision and appeal to continue to fall.
Lastly, there is indeed data to show disproportionate rates of offending, amongst certain foreign nationalities within Britain. For example, per Met Police data from London, obtained by a Freedom of Information request (the most comprehensive data we have and the area with the highest number of foreign nationals, meaning it has more statistical relevance) between 40-47% of sexual offence charges are against foreign nationals (a group comprising approximately 25% of London’s population). See “‘sexual Offences’ Persons Proceeded Against By Nationality 2018 2024.xlsx” at https://www.migrationcentral.co.uk/p/up-to-47-of-sexual-offence-charges. When broken down by nationality. The highest 10 charge rates (per 10,000 people) are as follows: Afghani (74.17), Eritrean (65.71), Algerian (56.36), Somalian (54.62), Sudanese (42.86), Albanian (35.83), Iraqi (30.00), Iranian (26.32), Egyptian (25.56), Moroccan (25.56). This is compared to a rate of 6.5 (per 10,000) for British nationals (2018-2024). Most/all of these nationalities are the same ones that make up the population of migrant hotels – among others. “‘sexual Offences’ Persons Proceeded Against By Nationality 2018 2024.xlsx” at https://www.migrationcentral.co.uk/p/up-to-47-of-sexual-offence-charges
Ministry of Justice and other governmental data consistently highlights disproportionate rates of sexual and violent offending amongst foreign nationals, compared to native Brits and showcases that offending rates vary greatly dependant on nationality, with Middle Eastern, some Asian, and African foreign nationals being consistently, disproportionately high offenders – generally those from Islamic nations are amongst the highest in terms of offending.
This, lastly, ties into the following. Data from 2001-2017, presented to parliament, shows that 90% of terrorist convictions were for Islamist-motivated terrorism. In the UK, per the 2021 census, 6.5% of the population identified as Muslim. Hence, a group that makes up 6.5% of our population, and made up a lesser number between 2001-2017, represents 90% of terrorist convictions. Meaning a Muslim in Britain is at least 129.44x more likely to be convicted of a terrorist offence than anyone else in Britain, for any other reason (the number could be higher if there are also Muslims in the non Islamist-motivated terrorism statistic). This figure does not differentiate between those who are foreign nationals and those with British nationality, so offending rates may be even higher amongst foreign nationals – which would be consistent with other offences. This figure rises to 178.56x using 2011 census data and 294.17x if using 2001 census data. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/88099/html