CAMPAIGNERS slammed the Tories today, blaming their “hateful rhetoric” against refugees for fuelling the violence seen outside a hotel in Knowsley housing asylum-seekers.

Fifteen people, aged between 13 and 54, were arrested on Friday night after a far-right rally descended into chaos outside the Suites Hotel. One 19-year-old has been charged with  assaulting an emergency worker.

Rioters hurled missiles and smashed a police van with sledgehammers before setting it alight. Mobs at the scene chanted “Get them out,” with signs saying “This is our city.”