A PROTEST march against recent changes to immigration legislation is to take place.

The Migration and Asylum Justice Forum has organised the march in Newcastle on Saturday to highlight what it terms is the threat posed by recent immigration laws to “the conviviality of multicultural life in contemporary Britain”.

Marchers will assemble in Stanhope Street at noon and move on to Grey’s Monument in the city centre for a rally.

Dr Kathryn Cassidy, from Northumbria University’s Geography department, said: “The timing of this march and rally could not be more crucial, as we emerge from an EU Referendum campaign which has further heightened anti-immigration discourse in the UK and we are set to see a strengthening of the pernicious effects of this legislation on our communities here in the North East as it is rolled out in the coming months and years.”

Organisers say the “draconian and poorly thought-out” powers of the Immigration Acts have created a “hostile environment” for migrants.