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| Home Office seeks to appeal against court ruling on asylum hotel | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The government is seeking to appeal against the High Court's refusal to allow it to intervene in the case of a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Epping. | |
| Earlier this week, Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to stop people being placed at the Bell Hotel. | Earlier this week, Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to stop people being placed at the Bell Hotel. |
| The court refused a last-minute effort from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to get the council's case dismissed. | |
| If successful in its new bid to be involved, the government is then expected to consider a further appeal against the ruling itself. | |
| Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said the government was committed to closing all asylum hotels, but added "we need to do that in a managed and ordered way". | Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said the government was committed to closing all asylum hotels, but added "we need to do that in a managed and ordered way". |
| "And that's why we'll appeal this decision," he said. | "And that's why we'll appeal this decision," he said. |
| A senior Home Office source said it was a matter of "democracy" and that the judiciary should not be able to tell the government where it can and can't place asylum seekers. | A senior Home Office source said it was a matter of "democracy" and that the judiciary should not be able to tell the government where it can and can't place asylum seekers. |
| In recent weeks, thousands of people have gathered near the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex to protest after an asylum seeker living there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the town. | |
| Bringing its case, Epping Council argued that the presence of the hotel "poses a clear risk of further escalating community tensions already at a high, and the risk of irreparable harm to the local community". | |
| Before the judgement was handed down, the Home Office asked to intervene in the case, warning that the court's decision could "substantially impact" its ability to house asylum seekers in hotels across the UK. | |
| The court ruled in favour of Epping Council and said the 140 asylum seekers would have to leave the hotel by 16:00 BST on 12 September. | |
| Since the ruling, more than half a dozen councils have said they were considering taking similar legal action. | |
| Protests and counter-protests are expected to take place outside hotels across the country over the coming days. |