A senior official responsible for overseeing Essex’s police force has written to the home secretary demanding that the migrant hotel at the centre of a spate of protests be closed.
Roger Hirst, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex, said in an online statement that he had written to Labour’s Yvette Cooper outlining the ‘unsuitability’ of The Bell Hotel in Epping for housing asylum seekers.
The lodging has become the focus of anti-migrant feeling in the area after one of its guests was charged with sexually assaulting two teenage girls just days after arriving in Britain – an accusation he has denied.
The attack spawned protests on July 13, 17 and 20, with the latest happening on Thursday evening.
Mr Hirst added that the demonstrations were ‘disrupting local life’ as well as ‘placing an unwelcome burden’ on police resources.
In a statement on the Essex PFCC website, he wrote: ‘I have today written to the Home Secretary, requesting a meeting to discuss the ongoing use of hotels in the Epping Forest District of Essex, and elsewhere in the county, to accommodate newly arrived asylum seekers.
‘Specifically, I am seeking to highlight the unsuitability of The Bell Hotel in Epping for this purpose, and request that its use be reviewed.
‘The presence of asylum seeker accommodation in this district is clearly creating community tension. These large-scale protests are disrupting local life and placing an unwelcome burden on Essex Police resources.’
A protestors jumps up and down on the roof of a police van at a protest on July 17 outside The Bell Hotel
During the July 17 protest in Epping, anti-immigration protestors attacked police vans with officers trapped inside
Protesters march in the streets of Epping last night, with two women carrying an English flag bearing the slogan ‘The Only Way is Epping’
The Bell Hotel in Epping, which has housed migrants on and off for the last five years, has become a hotspot for protests against asylum seekers
The latest unrest has been triggered after Ethiopian aslyum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences
Essex Police was forced to mount a huge operation on Thursday as protesters unveiled plans to march from The Bell Hotel to the Civic Centre where Epping Forest District Council was set to discuss a motion calling for the immediate and permanent closure of two asylum hotels.
As protests raged outside, councillors in Epping unanimously voted to urge the government to close The Bell Hotel and The Phoenix Hotel.
Mr Hirst added that while peaceful protest is ‘a fundamental part of our democracy’, the rioting and violence seen at some demonstrations was unacceptable.
He wrote: ‘The level of violence we are seeing on the streets of Epping is not acceptable.
‘Whilst peaceful protest is a fundamental part of our democracy, and we will always support the right of individuals to express their views lawfully and responsibly, this unlawful activity must stop in the interests of our local law-abiding residents.’
He added: ‘Those who protest peacefully, within the law, and with respect for others pose no concern to our police or to the wider public. But I want people to be clear.
‘Criminal violence of this nature will not be tolerated. The safety of the public and of our officers, and those involved in lawful protest is paramount.’
Metal barriers were being installed by police outside two migrant hotels yesterday following angry protests.
Metal fencing was delivered to The Bell Hotel in Epping this morning in an attempt to bolster the building’s defences
Later in the evening a line of police officers stood inside the protective fence in a bid to protect The Bell Hotel from protestors
A police officer watches over protestors in front of an English flag reading ‘The Only Way is Epping’
Police stand guard outside Epping Forest District Council offices
Police issued a dispersal order in Epping before the march on July 24, which included the town centre and transport hubs such as the Underground station
Police provided designated zones for use by anti-hotel protestors and counter-protesters outside The Bell Hotel, where the march began on July 24
The march culminated outside the Civic Centre where the council meeting took place – where once again there were specific zones to separate the two sets of protesters
One, the four-star Britannia International in Canary Wharf, was surrounded by the Met Police following Wednesday’s protest by anti-migrant demonstrators.
The other, Epping’s Bell Hotel in Essex, has been at the centre of violent clashes after Ethiopian aslyum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences only days after arriving on these shores.
He was arrested by officers on July 8 after reports of a man acting inappropriately towards a number of people.
Kebatu appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 10 July and denied all offences.
On July 17 Kebatu was charged with three counts of sexual assault, as well as one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
Essex Police sought to avoid a repetition of the rioting that took place at the protest that evening, which saw the windows of police vans smashed by thugs.
As well as barricading The Bell Hotel behind metal fencing, the force also issued a dispersal order was issued by police in Epping on July 24 from 2pm to 8am the following day, covering an area including the town centre and transport hubs such as the Underground station.
Police also said there would be a ban on anyone wearing face coverings under Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, with anyone obscuring their face facing arrest.
Protesters marched from The Bell to Epping Forest District Council on Thursday evening, where a meeting was set to took place to discuss a motion calling for the immediate and permanent closure of the Bell Hotel and Phoenix Hotel
Police give an escort to protesters marching through Epping as they aim to avoid a repeat of the kind of unrest that happened during a previous protest on July 17
A number of protesters braved the rain as people release flares in Union Jack colours while police watch on – though the turnout was smaller than the event on July 17 that spilled over into rioting
One protester was arrested under the terms of this ban.
The heightened protective measures were brought in amid fears of further violence last night.
There are concerns the unrest will spiral into a summer of protests.
Yesterday, a policing leader said the protests in Epping were a ‘signal flare’ revealing how ill-equipped forces are to deal with disorder.
Tiff Lynch, head of the Police Federation in England and Wales, which represents rank-and-file officers, warned that unrest at The Bell was ‘not just a troubling one-off’ but a reminder of the ‘deep fragility within our public order policing system’.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned: ‘There is no question, this is the unhappiest I have seen, I think, the UK in a long, long time and it’s all coming to a head.’
He told Talk TV: ‘The migrants issue is a major cause of this.’
Jonathan Reynolds, the Business and Trade Secretary, said protesters in Epping were ‘upset for legitimate reasons’.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds (pictured) said the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers in the UK had halved from 400 to about 200 but added that people were upset with the asylum system for ‘legitimate reasons’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed on X that far-left counter-protesters were ‘bussed’ to The Bell Hotel for the July 17 protest – a claim categorically denied by Essex Police
He acknowledged there was ‘huge frustration that is shared by the Government’ about the asylum system and the pressures it has created on housing.
When asked whether he was worried about unrest spreading, the Cabinet minister told Sky News that the Government, police and other enforcement agencies were ‘prepared for all situations’.
He said: ‘I think what we’ve got to talk about is: Why are people unhappy with, say, the asylum system? Are they reasonable?
‘Are they upset for legitimate reasons? Yes, we share those as a government.’
‘That is why we are sorting it out. And I understand the frustrations people have, but ultimately, you solve those frustrations and solve the problem by fixing and getting a grip of the core issue, which is what we’re doing.’
Mr Reynolds said the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers in the UK had halved from 400 to about 200.
He added: ‘The solution is not putting people in different forms of accommodation, it’s about having a system where if people shouldn’t be in the UK, they have to leave the UK.’
Yesterday, Ms Lynch warned that officers will have to be dragged away from neighbourhood duties to keep the peace at protests being planned for the coming weeks.
Three protesters hold signs reading ‘Protect our kids’
Officers line the streets outside Epping Forest District Council before protesters arrived ahead of the council meeting
Protesters wrapped in English flags speak to police at one of the designated protest areas outside The Bell Hotel
Police officers watch over the protesters in one of the designated protest zones
Sixteen people were arrested after a protest at The Bell last week. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged.
Ms Lynch told The Daily Telegraph that last summer’s disorder exposed ‘gaps’, with ‘mutual aid stripped to the bone, co-ordination between forces lacking, and a total failure to anticipate how disorder is now sparked and fuelled online’.
She said public order ‘requires planning, investment and leadership – but officers are being pulled in every direction’.
A planned march from The Bell to an emergency meeting of councillors last night threatened to bring disorder but, thanks to rain and a heavy police presence, fewer protesters than expected turned up.
Many seemed to be so-called social media influencers, recording themselves live on their phones. Having been kept behind the metal barriers, a number of women led a steady stream of walkers chanting ‘save our kids’.
Essex Police had threatened protesters with arrest if they caused trouble, issuing a dispersal order in the area.
Speaking at a tense council meeting, Reform UK councillor Jaymey McIvor repeated the claim that ‘far-left thugs’ were ‘bussed’ to The Bell Hotel by Essex Police for the July 17 protest.
The claim was originally made by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in a post on X earlier in the week.
However, Essex Police emphatically denied the claim on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: ‘Officers did provide a foot cordon around protesters on their way to the protest, where they and others were allowed to exercise their right to protest.
‘Later, some people who were clearly at risk of being hurt were also escorted by vehicle away from the area for their safety.
‘To reiterate, we categorically did not drive any counter-protesters to the site on any occasion.’
A second police force has now been accused of escorting left-wing counter-protesters to a protest outside an asylum hotel, The Telegraph reported.
Footage shot on May 10 appears to shows officers from Hampshire Constabulary accompanying activists to a site in Aldershot which houses asylum seekers.
‘Officers engage with those attending, and ensure they know where they can safely protest both in advance and on the day,’ a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said.
‘Policing protests requires us to balance the rights of those lawfully protesting and the rights of others to go about their lives without being subject to unacceptable disruption, whilst keeping the public safe.’
