All residents at The Bell Hotel in Essex, which has been used to house asylum seekers and was the location of protests last year, have been removed from the property, Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) said.
On Thursday, the council said it was aware the Home Office had vacated all those staying at the hotel and that only security staff remained onsite.
Last year, the location became the focus of protests after hotel resident Hadush Kebatu sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.
Kebatu was found guilty of five offences – including sexual assault – and jailed, and was then mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford last October before he was detained and deported to Ethiopia.
In a statement, EFDC said: “Despite ongoing engagement with the Home Office, we did not know in advance that this was going to happen.
“We are seeking clarification from the Home Office on the details of what has happened and what their next steps will be.”
Staff and residents are understood to have been removed from the hotel by the Home Office as a precaution because of concerns about fire safety regulations.
In March, EFDC lost a Court of Appeal bid to challenge a High Court ruling dismissing its attempt to stop the hotel from being used to house asylum seekers.
The council wanted to appeal against Mr Justice Mould’s decision in November last year not to grant an injunction blocking the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels, from accommodating asylum seekers at the property.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government is removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain. We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military sites.
“The population of asylum seekers in hotels has fallen by 35% in the last year and by 63% from the peak under the previous government.”
