Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for his criticism of Essex Police's handling of protests outside an asylum seeker hotel in Epping. Cooper said officers deserved public support for keeping the country safe, rather than facing attacks.
Farage had called for the resignation of Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington after police escorted anti-fascist protesters through a crowd of demonstrators opposing migrants. He accused the force of giving 'the red carpet treatment' to 'masked thugs'. Harrington rejected the claims as 'categorically wrong', stating officers had cordoned off activists exercising their right to protest.
Former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu said Farage should correct the public record, adding: 'British values mean if a politician makes a mistake, they put their hand up and acknowledge it. He knows it is false.'
Epping Forest District Council voted unanimously on Thursday to call for the immediate closure of the Bell hotel for asylum processing and the 'managed closure' of the Phoenix hotel. The vote was non-binding, with council leader Chris Whitbread noting the Home Office had final say and had been 'not being overly cooperative' on safeguarding concerns.
Hundreds of protesters, including women and children, marched from Epping town centre to the hotel in heavy rain. Police arrested 17 people in total, including an 18-year-old for breaching a face covering ban. Activists from far-right groups Homeland, Patriotic Alternative, and White Vanguard were involved, along with two Reform councillors.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously condemned 'far-right thuggery' during last summer's riots, but Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said many Epping protesters were 'upset for legitimate reasons'. Labour MP Stella Creasy warned that political and media language about social unrest was 'raising fear and uncertainty and tension'.
