Two men charged after police officers injured at Epping asylum hotel protest
Two charged following Epping asylum hotel protests
- Two men have been charged following protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, Essex, with a third man remaining in custody.
- Ross Ellis, 49, was charged with failing to provide a specimen, and Jimmy Hillard, 52, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker.
- Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin of Essex Police stated that the right to protest does not include the right to commit crime.
- The Bell Hotel in Epping has been a focal point for protests after an asylum seeker there was charged with sexual assault, though the hotel and Home Office recently won a legal challenge to house 138 asylum seekers.
- Similar protests occurred near the Delta Marriott hotel in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, with Broxbourne Council expressing concerns and planning legal action to seek its closure for housing asylum seekers.