Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has stated that protesters outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping are 'upset for legitimate reasons', as police prepare for further unrest. Hundreds of local residents have been demonstrating outside the Bell hotel following the arrest of an Ethiopian asylum seeker on sexual assault charges against a local girl.
Reynolds acknowledged 'huge frustration that is shared by the government' regarding the asylum system and its impact on housing. He noted that the number of hotels used for asylum seekers has halved from 400 to 200, and emphasised that the solution lies in a system where those not entitled to remain in the UK must leave.
Far-right activists have been involved in promoting the protests online and have clashed with police. Essex Police have issued a dispersal order for Epping, effective from 2pm Thursday to 8am Friday, granting officers the power to arrest those suspected of antisocial behaviour.
Tiff Lynch, chair of the Police Federation, warned that officers could be diverted from neighbourhood duties if unrest spreads over the summer, describing the Epping protests as a 'signal flare' for further demonstrations.
