LONDON - A British regional council on Tuesday lost its bid to have asylum seekers removed from a hotel targeted by protests after a resident was charged with sexual assault, a ruling that will do little to ease pressure on the government over immigration.
Epping Forest District Council took legal action to stop asylum seekers being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles north of London, arguing the hotel's owner did not have planning permission to use it to accommodate them.
The injunction application was opposed by Britain's Home Office (interior ministry), which argued that an injunction requiring their removal could have a substantial impact on its ability to fulfil its legal duty to provide accommodation, and could provoke further chaotic protests.
Judge Tim Mould ruled that the current use of the Bell Hotel was in breach of planning law but refused to grant an injunction, citing in part the "continuing need to source contingency accommodation for asylum seekers from hotels".
DISCONTENT OVER 'ASYLUM HOTELS'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government plans to close all such hotels by the next election, due in 2029. More than 30,000 migrants were housed in hotels according to government figures up to the end of June.
A Home Office spokesperson said Tuesday's ruling would allow the government to do that "as part of an orderly, planned and sustained programme".
But the court's decision and the Home Office's involvement in the case drew criticism of Starmer's government from political opponents who said it put the rights of illegal immigrants over concerns of local people.
"This is a dark day for local democracy and a slap in the face to the people of Epping," Chris Philp, the Conservative home affairs spokesperson, said.
Pro-migrant groups have said far-right groups and opportunistic politicians are deliberately seeking to exploit and inflame tensions in places like Epping for their own ends.
HOTEL BECOMES PROTEST HOTSPOT
"Every day in our therapy rooms we see how the protests and violence have left the survivors we support too scared to do their shopping, take their children to the playground, or attend life-saving clinical treatment," said Sile Reynolds, head of asylum advocacy at the Freedom from Torture charity.
The Bell Hotel became a hotspot of protests after the arrest of an Ethiopian asylum seeker in July for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted and sentenced to 12 months in jail, but was accidentally released from prison last month, sparking a brief manhunt before he was deported.
The protests, some of which were violent and have led to criminal convictions for disorder, reflect rising concern over immigration driven by a record number of arrivals by migrants in small boats across the Channel from Europe.
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