Asylum seekers have been removed from the Bell hotel in Epping, Essex, after the Home Office terminated its contract with the establishment. The hotel became a flashpoint for anti-immigration protests across England last summer following the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl and a woman by an asylum seeker living there.
The protests, exploited by far-right activists, escalated into violent clashes with police. On Thursday night, Epping District Council announced it had learned that all residents had been removed from the hotel. The council confirmed on Friday that the Home Office would cease using the hotel from 11 July.
The Home Office stated that staff and asylum seekers had been removed due to fire and safety concerns as a precaution, but declined to say whether they would return after work was completed. Local opponents of far-right activity expressed concern that the council's statement created a situation where residents could not return, even if the removal was temporary.
In November, the High Court ruled that asylum seekers could continue to be housed at the hotel, rejecting a permanent injunction sought by the council, which argued it was a “feeding ground for unrest and protest”. The asylum seeker responsible for the assaults, Hadush Kebatu, was deported to Ethiopia in October.
Protests continued intermittently, with two security guards assaulted in a racially motivated attack and police attacked during summer violence. A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain. That is why we will close every single asylum hotel, moving illegal migrants into basic accommodation like military barracks.”
