The Court of Appeal has overturned a ban on asylum seekers staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, ruling that they may remain on site. The decision buys the Home Office time to implement a planned closure of at least five more hotels by the end of the year, with all such accommodation slated for closure by 2029.
Nigel Farage seized on the ruling, accusing the government of using the law against local residents and claiming that illegal migrants have more rights than the people of Essex. Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, echoed the sentiment, asserting that judges sided with illegal migrants against British people by using the European Convention on Human Rights to override planning law and local protests.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch encouraged Tory councils to continue legal challenges despite the court’s clarity that protest and local pressure do not count in planning law. Within the Conservative Party, views remain divided: one senior MP acknowledged the human aspect, while a backbencher insisted on making it impossible for the hotels to remain open.
A YouGov poll indicates that 71% of voters think Prime Minister Keir Starmer is handling the asylum crisis poorly, including a majority of his own supporters, and nearly seven in ten say immigration levels are too high. The government maintains that its plan is working, citing a falling backlog, increased deportations, and a deal with France, but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has yet to comment publicly.
As protesters gathered outside the Bell Hotel on Friday evening, fears mount over further demonstrations across the country, with Farage describing the national mood as a mix of total despair and rising anger over immigration.
