Cunningham has promised an "all out war" on crime in London, yet there have been complaints of theft and safety issues at the hotel she co-owns
Laila Cunningham, Reform UK’s newly announced candidate for London Mayor co-owns an unsafe “squat hotel” which guests have claimed is plagued by mould and bed bugs.
An investigation by The Mirror has revealed that while Cunningham has promised an “all out war” on crime in the capital, the budget hotel she co-owns has itself been the target of theft and safety complaints.
New Dawn Hotel, which Cunningham owns a share in, has been swamped with negative reviews from guests.
The £50-a-night West London hotel has a 2.7 out of 5 rating on Google.
One guest left the following review on Google a year ago: “Someone entered our room at night and stole from us.”
Writing about what appears to be the same incident, another guest said in a review that the hotel was “unsafe”, adding: “We lost over £2,000.”
Another said that their experience at New Dawn Hotel was “one of the worst experiences I have ever had”, adding that “The conditions of the hotel were beyond unacceptable.”
One reviewer in May 2024 wrote on TripAdvisor: “Dirty looks like a squat hotel.The rooms are old and dirty, you can’t even sit in the bathroom.”
The hotel is owned by Plaza Continental Hotels Ltd, with a Companies House filing showing Cunningham owns 5% of shares under her previous married name, Laila Dupuy.
Westminster City Council said it had received two complaints about “the condition of the hotel”, the most recent in 2024.
Despite repeatedly attacking Sadiq Khan over crime in London, guests at the hotel Cunningham co-owns told The Mirror they felt unsafe while staying there.
One woman who stayed at the hotel in 2023 told The Mirror that she and her friend used a hairdryer cable to keep the bedroom door shut as the lock did not work properly.
She said they did so because the man in reception made them feel uncomfortable.
Another guest said he was locked in his room, forcing him to climb out of a small ground-floor window. He then paid to stay elsewhere.
Responding to the story on X, Cunningham dismissed The Mirror as a “far-left outlet” and claimed the story relied on “anonymous, unverified and anecdotal claims” about incidents from years ago. She also said she has “no role whatsoever in the running or management of the business”.
Two weeks ago, Left Foot Forward reported that Cunningham is linked to three companies that have been struck off by Companies House for breaching company law and failing to file legally required documents.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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