Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has criticised Michael Gove over the government's response to riots in Epping following a court ruling that allowed asylum seekers to remain at the Bell hotel. The Court of Appeal overturned an injunction that would have prevented dozens of asylum seekers from being housed at the Essex hotel.
Epping Forest District Council leader Ken Williamson called for calm after the ruling, stating: 'I call for calm. There’s been peaceful protests and there’s been non peaceful protests outside the hotel.' He expressed frustration that 'the government say that asylum seekers have more rights than my residents' and vowed to continue fighting the decision at a full hearing in October.
Essex Police issued a Section 60AA order in Epping, giving officers power to require removal of face coverings, after monitoring a protest in Cheshunt where a group planned to travel to Epping. The order lasts 24 hours. Police warned protesters not to travel to Epping, noting some were wearing masks and balaclavas.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have referred Rayner to the ethics adviser over claims she saved £40,000 in stamp duty on a second home in Hove by removing her name from a family property in Greater Manchester. Rayner's team said she 'has followed advice on the allocation of her official residence at all times.'
