Epping hotel's asylum seekers to be removed - what happens next?

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The Bell Hotel has been told it can no longer house asylum seekers

You would have been hard-pressed to find anyone outside of Epping who had heard of The Bell Hotel eight weeks ago.

But today, the building in the leafy Essex town has become a reluctant symbol of the political tension surrounding immigration.

It is one of 210 hotels housing asylum seekers across the UK and was thrust into the spotlight after a man lodging inside was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Thousands of people have protested peacefully outside the premises since the allegation emerged in early June.

However, at times, demonstrations have turned violent and police officers reported being injured.

On Tuesday, the situation reached a climax.

A High Court judge ruled all asylum seekers must be removed from the building, following legal action by Epping Forest District Council.

When will the asylum seekers move out?

Several people have been arrested and charged over disorder during protests at The Bell Hotel

The government has been given a deadline of 12 September to remove the residents.

It means the Home Office and its contractors must find alternative accommodation by then.

The injunction imposed by Mr Justice Eyre is temporary, with a full hearing to be held in the autumn.

But in practice, it stands indefinitely unless and until the hotel's owner or the government are able to reverse the decision.

Lawyers for both of those parties have confirmed they wish to appeal the injunction.

Where could they go?

The short answer is it appears nobody knows.

Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis said the government was "looking at options" on how to rehouse the asylum seekers.

He said part of this process was finding "suitably appropriate alternative accommodation".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Jarvis added the government had "never thought that hotels were an appropriate source of accommodation for asylum seekers".

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called for asylum seekers to be housed in camps which could be policed, rather than hotels.

She suggested detention centres could be built at speed, similar to how Nightingale pop-up hospitals were during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chris Whitbread, the Conservative leader of Epping Forest District Council, also proposed using the Crown Estate to house migrants.

He said the Home Office had not contacted him to say where The Bell Hotel's occupants would be relocated.

"I have had no constructive conversations with the Home Office whatsoever throughout this whole process," Whitbread added.

What have residents said?

"I don't know where the government will find to put them next," one local woman told the BBC.

Dave Austin, from nearby Theydon Bois, said there had been a feeling of "unease" in the area in recent weeks, but the injunction was "great news".

"I hope it starts a ball rolling for a great unravelling of the situation we've got at the moment, where there seems to be a huge deluge of asylum seekers," he said.

"I can see their plight, I can see why there's a problem, but it just seems to be growing, growing and growing and it's getting hugely expensive."

Brenda Scotto, 74, claimed the injunction was needed "because it wasn't safe for children, especially young girls, to be walking along the High Road".

But 30-year-old Cara Hobson said it was not "a full solution to the larger issue at hand".

Umar Hassan, who works in Epping, added: "I think the government should find suitable accommodation for immigrants."

What do the asylum seekers say?

Wael said he felt respected in Epping

Mohammad arrived at The Bell Hotel after illegally immigrating from Iran.

He told the BBC people had the right to be angry if any of the hotel's residents broke the law.

But Mohammad insisted the majority of people living in The Bell Hotel were "very good people".

"I want to make my future here because [in] my country I don't have support from the government," he said.

"I'm married, I have a son, my son and wife [are] in Iran. I want to bring them [here]. I want to make my future here."

He said his fellow asylum seekers supported people's right to protest.

One of them, Wael, previously said people had been respectful towards him.

"I will not stay here and take food. I have a dream - to make money and play football and have fun with my time," he said.

What has the hotel said?

The Bell Hotel has been at the centre of intense protests and counter-protests over the summer

The Bell Hotel is owned by Somani Hotels Limited, a small firm which has its registered office in Epping.

It previously housed asylum seekers from May 2020 to March 2021, and from October 2022 to April 2024.

Representing the business at the High Court, barrister Piers Riley-Smith said contracts to house asylum seekers were a "financial lifeline" for the hotel.

The venue was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers.

Mr Riley-Smith said the injunction would cause asylum seekers "hardship" and set "a dangerous precedent that protests justify planning injunctions".

The barrister said it was "entirely wrong" for the council to "suggest the use has been hidden from them".

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