Eight people were arrested during a Home Office operation outside Walthamstow Central Tube station yesterday morning. Witnesses said they saw police […]By Waltham Forest Echo

Officers were stopping people at Walthamstow Central station yesterday morning (James Cracknell)

Eight people were arrested during a Home Office operation outside Walthamstow Central Tube station yesterday morning.

Witnesses said they saw police stopping pedestrians to ask for their ID and how long they had been in the country, with some people being placed in handcuffs.

Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy condemned the raid as “a waste of resources” and “deeply divisive” and called for an investigation.

A Home Office spokesperson confirmed the department had collaborated with the Met Police on the raid, which led to eight arrests.

The spokesperson said: “The government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes, often to the most vulnerable people, by removing those with no right to be in the UK.

“We continue to work with law enforcement agencies to tackle illegal migration in all its forms. Our New Plan for Immigration will speed up the removal of those who have entered the UK illegally.”

However, many who witnessed the raid said they found it “sinister” and “disgusting”, as well as an example of police profiling.

MP Creasy tweeted: “Received worrying reports immigration enforcement officers doing random stops of EU nationals at Walthamstow Central today.

“Not only a waste of resources given scattergun [approach], but also deeply divisive. #Brexitchaos”

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