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Asylum seekers to be removed from Epping hotel after council wins injunction Labour’s asylum policy in turmoil after Epping hotel blocked from housing migrants
(about 2 hours later)
District council in Essex had cited disruption and safety concerns, as well as alleged breach of planning law Other local leaders expected to mount challenges as a result of council in Essex winning injunction following protests
Asylum seekers are to be removed from a hotel that has attracted repeated violent far-right demonstrations after a high court judge granted a temporary injunction blocking them from being housed there. Keir Starmer’s asylum policies have been plunged into turmoil following a high court ruling blocking people seeking refuge from being housed in an Essex hotel.
Mr Justice Eyre granted the injunction against the owners of the Bell hotel in Epping, Essex, after hearing the local council’s complaints that they had breached planning law by changing the site’s use. Epping Forest district council was granted an interim injunction on Tuesday to stop migrants being placed at the Bell hotel, following continuing protests near the hotel.
Thousands of people, including some rightwing agitators, have gathered near the hotel in recent weeks after an asylum seeker living there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the town.
Ministers are bracing for dozens of legal challenges from other council leaders following the ruling. Home Office lawyers warned the court that the decision could “substantially impact” the government’s ability to house asylum seekers in hotels across the UK.
There were around 200 hotels housing about 30,000 asylum seekers in hotels at the end of March.
Insiders at the Home Office admitted that the department had been left “reeling” by the ruling. The department is obliged to house asylum seekers until their cases are assessed.
Reacting to the judgment, the border security minister, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “We will carefully consider this judgment. As this matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Mr Justice Eyre granted the injunction after hearing the local council’s complaints that they had breached planning law by changing the site’s use.
Epping district council also cited disruption caused by the protests, which came after two people staying at the hotel were charged with sexual offences, and concerns for the safety of the asylum seekers themselves.Epping district council also cited disruption caused by the protests, which came after two people staying at the hotel were charged with sexual offences, and concerns for the safety of the asylum seekers themselves.
Lawyers for the hotel’s owners had argued the council was trying to stop the protests and that no planning concerns justified taking the “exceptional step” of issuing an urgent order to close down the hotel, rather than dealing with the matter via conventional enforcement action or at a final injunction hearing.
Sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, the judge agreed with the council that an urgent order was required to stop the hotel housing asylum seekers. He said the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels Ltd, had until 12 September to comply.Sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, the judge agreed with the council that an urgent order was required to stop the hotel housing asylum seekers. He said the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels Ltd, had until 12 September to comply.
The hotel has been at the centre of violent far-right protests since an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month.The hotel has been at the centre of violent far-right protests since an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month.
A second man who was staying at the site, Mohammed Sharwarq, a Syrian national, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several men have been charged over alleged disorder outside the hotel.A second man who was staying at the site, Mohammed Sharwarq, a Syrian national, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several men have been charged over alleged disorder outside the hotel.
Prior to the ruling being handed down, the judge declined a last-minute application from the home secretary to intervene.
A barrister for the home secretary argued that a ruling in the council’s favour would have a substantial impact on her statutory duty to house asylum seekers while their cases are considered, among other concerns. But the judge said the home secretary’s intervention was unnecessary and would merely use up court time.
Speaking after Tuesday’s ruling, the council’s leader, Chris Whitbread, said: “I am delighted. This is great news for our residents. The last few weeks have placed an intolerable strain on our community but today we have some great news. This is not the end of the matter. Having obtained an interim provision, the next stage is for the council to return to the court and seek a permanent injunction.”Speaking after Tuesday’s ruling, the council’s leader, Chris Whitbread, said: “I am delighted. This is great news for our residents. The last few weeks have placed an intolerable strain on our community but today we have some great news. This is not the end of the matter. Having obtained an interim provision, the next stage is for the council to return to the court and seek a permanent injunction.”
Enver Solomon, the Refugee Council’s chief executive, said: “Everyone agrees that hotels are the wrong answer. They cost the taxpayer billions, trap people in limbo and are flashpoints in communities.” Since 2020, there has been greater reliance on hotels to house asylum seekers, with 32,345 being housed temporarily in England and Wales at the end of March this year. Labour has promised to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029 by cutting small boat crossings and building new government-owned accommodation for asylum seekers.
He said protests that had flared up against the sites left vulnerable asylum seekers feeling terrified, adding: “This makes an already traumatising situation worse and prevents people from feeling safe.” Enver Solomon, the Refugee Council’s chief executive, said: “The use of hotels is completely unsustainable – and this ruling shows that the government’s plan to wait until 2029 to end their use is not viable.
He said the government should stop relying on hotels and work with local councils to “provide safe, cost-effective accommodation within communities. But ultimately, the only way to end hotel use for good is to resolve asylum applications quickly and accurately so people can either rebuild their lives here or return home with dignity.” “Through our frontline work we see how protests and hostility leave people who have fled war and persecution feeling terrified and targeted in the very places they are forced to live. This makes an already traumatising situation worse and robs people of any sense of safety.
“Instead of relying on costly hotels, the Home Office should partner with local councils to provide safe, cost-effective accommodation within communities. But to end hotel use for good, the government needs to think differently about how we can speed up and improve asylum decision-making.”
The council said last week it was seeking the injunction due to “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption” in connection with asylum seeker accommodation. Chris Whitbread, the leader of the council, said the situation “cannot go on” but the government was not listening.
At a hearing on Friday, barristers for the council said the site’s “sole lawful use” was as a hotel and that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using it to house asylum seekers. Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was “wholly unacceptable” and had provided a “feeding ground for unrest”.At a hearing on Friday, barristers for the council said the site’s “sole lawful use” was as a hotel and that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using it to house asylum seekers. Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was “wholly unacceptable” and had provided a “feeding ground for unrest”.
He said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell hotel to place asylum seekers. It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully. It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.” He added: “It really could not be much worse than this.”He said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell hotel to place asylum seekers. It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully. It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.” He added: “It really could not be much worse than this.”
The council argued that using the hotel to house asylum seekers, rather than as a conventional hotel, was a breach of planning law. One council leader said he will gather “more detail about what Epping has done” before considering a bid to shut down another hotel thought to be housing asylum seekers.
Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels, said “disagreement with government policy” did not justify a “draconian” injunction and that there would be hardship caused to the company and those housed at the hotel. He said contracts to house asylum seekers had been a “financial lifeline” for the hotel, which was only 1% full in August 2022 when it was open to paying customers. Corina Gander, the Conservative leader of the borough of Broxbourne council, said crowds had gathered in protest outside the Cheshunt Marriott hotel in Hertfordshire, which lies about six miles from the Bell hotel in Epping.
“It is clear that recent protests have expanded far beyond the local community and have gone into concerns about wider ideological and political issues from those outside the community. Those particular ideological, non-community concerns are not relevant to planning,” he said. Gander said the high court’s decision had set a “massive precedent” and added: “It’s just given us this massive boost and precedent that we can do something now.”
Prior to the ruling being handed down, the judge declined a last-minute application from the home secretary to intervene. A barrister for the home secretary argued that a ruling in the council’s favour would have a substantial impact on her statutory duty to house asylum seekers while their cases are considered, among other concerns. But the judge said the home secretary’s intervention was unnecessary and would merely use up court time. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, hailed the high court decision in Epping as a victory and said he hoped it “provides inspiration to others across the country”.
After handing down his ruling, Mr Justice Eyre refused Somani Hotels leave to challenge it. Riley-Smith cited the ruling’s “wide-reaching ramifications”, including the “precedent that would be set” and the impact it could have “on the wider strategy of the [home secretary] in relation to the housing of asylum seekers in hotels as part of meeting their statutory duties”. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, suggested that the migrants housed at the hotel “need to be moved out of the area immediately”, while the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said that “residents should never have had to fight their own government just to feel safe in their own town”.
Somani Hotels could still ask the court of appeal for the go-ahead to challenge the ruling.