Asylum seekers to be moved out of protest-hit Epping hotel after council wins temporary ban
Asylum seekers will be moved out of protest-hit hotel after ban
- Epping Forest District Council successfully secured a High Court injunction to prevent The Bell Hotel in Epping from housing asylum seekers.
- Mr Justice Eyre ruled in favour of the council, ordering that asylum seekers must be moved out of the hotel by 12 September.
- The Home Secretary's last-ditch attempt to block the injunction was dismissed by the judge, despite warnings of similar applications from other councils.
- The council argued that the hotel's use was a "very serious problem" and a "danger to school-age students" due to violent protests and alleged sexual assaults at the site.
- Somani Hotels Limited, the defendant, plans to appeal the decision, while the Home Office highlighted the acute shortage of asylum accommodation.