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Epping Forest District Council will challenge the use of a local hotel to house asylum seekers in a three-day High Court hearing beginning Wednesday. The authority is seeking a permanent injunction against Somani Hotels over the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has accommodated 138 asylum seekers.
The hearing before Mr Justice Mould starts at 10:30am at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Both Somani Hotels and the Home Office are opposing the council's claim for a permanent injunction.
Previous legal battles
The council initially won a temporary injunction earlier this year that would have stopped asylum seekers being housed at the hotel beyond September 12. However, the Court of Appeal overturned this decision in August, finding it to be "seriously flawed in principle".
EFDC issued legal proceedings in August over alleged breaches of planning rules. The council's barristers told the High Court this was causing a "very serious problem" which "could not be much worse".
Criminal incidents spark protests
The Bell Hotel became the centre of protests and counter-protests during the summer following serious criminal incidents. Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat days before the incident, was jailed for 12 months in September after being charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Epping in July.
Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, another hotel resident, received a 16-week sentence last month after admitting assaulting two fellow residents and two staff members. Several others were also charged with offences related to demonstrations outside the hotel.
Political responses
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) said he "completely" understands people's concerns about migration, adding: "When it comes to the asylum hotels, I want them emptied." Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle said the Government was committed to closing all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, but appealed against the High Court ruling so hotel use can be ended in a "controlled and orderly way".
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised Sir Keir, saying he "puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people". She urged Tory councils to proceed with legal action over hotel use for asylum seekers in their areas.
The Home Office unsuccessfully sought to delay Wednesday's hearing by six weeks in September, with barristers arguing for a "period of reflection" after the Court of Appeal ruling. Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the bid, stating: "It is in the interests of all that the matters affecting the Bell Hotel are resolved in a reasonably expeditious way."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
