A group of masked men attempted to enter a London hotel amid heated clashes between anti-immigration protesters and anti-racism demonstrators. The protests follow a court ruling allowing asylum seekers to continue being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. Demonstrations have also taken place in Newcastle, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Gloucester, London, and Essex this weekend, resulting in several arrests in west London after two anti-asylum groups marched to the Crowne Plaza in West Drayton.
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Police reported that masked individuals tried to access hotels via rear entrances while breakaway groups approached the Novotel and Holiday Inn. Officers were already stationed at the sites, with two sustaining minor injuries. In Falkirk, hundreds of counter-protesters from Stand Up To Racism gathered to oppose anti-migrant demonstrators outside the Cladhan Hotel. Authorities separated the groups behind barriers, ensuring public order amid rising tensions. Similar confrontations occurred outside hotels in Gloucester and Newcastle, prompting police to increase patrols and enforce dispersal orders where necessary.
The Bell Hotel has been a focal point of controversy after a resident asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month, a charge he denies. Somani Hotels, which owns the building, and the Home Office successfully challenged a High Court ruling that would have prevented 138 asylum seekers from being housed there. Epping Forest District Council is expected to decide whether to take the matter to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by Lord Falconer, a former Blair adviser, to take decisive action on the migrant crisis to prevent voter losses to Reform UK.
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Lord Falconer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the government must act to close hotels and curb Channel crossings. “The government always has the burden of doing what’s possible and the government is doing the right thing in relation to it, but there’s a lot more to do,” he said. He warned that failure to take further measures could strengthen Reform UK’s support, as they are not encumbered by the practical challenges facing the government. The ongoing situation underscores the political and social challenges surrounding asylum seeker accommodation in the UK.
