ESSEX, England (BN24) — Police arrested three men during renewed protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on Friday after the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary injunction that had barred asylum seekers from being housed there.
Essex Police confirmed the arrests were linked to separate offences, including violent disorder, assaulting a police officer and drink-driving. Two officers sustained injuries, though none were serious.
Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin stressed that while most demonstrators had acted peacefully, police would not tolerate violence. “The right to protest does not include a right to commit crime,” he said.
The legal ruling ensures that 138 asylum seekers currently housed at The Bell Hotel will not be forced to leave by September 12. Lord Justice Bean, explaining the Court of Appeal decision, said the earlier High Court injunction obtained by Epping Forest District Council was “seriously flawed in principle.”
The council has not ruled out escalating the case to the Supreme Court in its ongoing effort to block the use of the hotel. In the meantime, Essex Police issued a dispersal order around the property until Saturday morning to maintain order.
The hotel has been at the center of heated protests since July, with demonstrations intensifying after an asylum seeker living there was arrested and charged with sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl. The accused, Hadush Kebatu of Ethiopia, has denied the allegations and is currently on trial.
Police said that Friday’s arrests bring the total number linked to unrest outside the hotel to 28. Protesters again gathered outside the property waving banners, union jack and England flags, reflecting the deep divisions in the town.
Local reactions were mixed. Some residents, like Laura Fraye, said the judgment would stir “a lot of upset,” while others, including her mother, Bonny Pitson, sympathized with the protesters’ concerns despite not joining them.
By contrast, Kerry Gilroy, who runs the Facebook group Epping for Everyone, welcomed the ruling. She argued that protests had spread “vitriolic statements and untruths” about asylum seekers. “For the people in the hotel it gives consistency, but it’s made me very nervous because I think there will be trouble,” she said.
Conservative councillor Holly Whitbread described the appeal decision as “deeply disappointing” and a “betrayal for many,” while reiterating the council’s commitment to pursuing every legal route available.
A full High Court hearing on whether to impose a permanent injunction on the use of The Bell Hotel is scheduled for mid-October. In the meantime, the Labour government has reiterated its commitment to phasing out asylum hotels “in an orderly way,” while acknowledging ongoing strain on the system.
Source: bbc
