More councils are now vowing to launch legal challenges over the government’s use of asylum hotels, sparking chaos for Sir Keir Starmer, as Reform UK calls for protests.
Councils have announced they are considering action to ban migrants from being housed in their areas after Epping Forest District Council won an interim High Court injunction to stop asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel.
The council successfully argued the site had become a “feeding ground for unrest” in recent weeks after a series of violent protests resulted in multiple arrests and saw police officers injured.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper made a last-minute attempt on Tuesday to halt their removal, arguing that other councils would make similar applications for migrant accommodation in their areas.
Reform leader Nigel Farage hailed the High Court decision in Epping as a “victory” and indicated that the 12 councils where his party is the largest would now consider similar challenges.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he also said that “the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain”.
Meanwhile, the shadow home secretary argued that residents have “every right to object” to people being housed in their area.
Spelthorne vows it ‘will not give up’ in pursuing legal action
Spelthorne Borough Council has vowed it “will not give up” as it pursues “every legal and strategic option available”.
In a statement issued today, the council said: “Spelthorne Borough Council remains resolute in its opposition to the Home Office’s recent decision to change the use of the Stanwell Hotel from housing families and single women to accommodating single adult males only.
“In response to this change, the Council acted swiftly to obtain legal advice regarding the potential for enforcement action on planning grounds. The Council is now working closely with legal counsel in light of the recent High Court ruling on the Bell Hotel in Epping Forest, which may have significant implications for the situation in Stanwell.
“The Council is also continuing to press the Home Office for a formal response to previous correspondence and is urging immediate and meaningful engagement.”
Cllr Joanne Sexton, Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council, added: “We will not give up. This decision by the Home Office is deeply concerning and was made without proper consultation or consideration of the local community. Our priority is, and always will be, the wellbeing of our residents and protecting Stanwell. We are pursuing every legal and strategic option available to us, and we call on the Home Office to respond urgently and engage constructively.”
South Norfolk Council issue enforcement notice on asylum hotel in area
The Independent’s social affairs correspondent Holly Bancroft reports:
South Norfolk Council have issued an enforcement notice on the asylum hotel in their area. The hotel owners were served with the order on 8 August, requiring the owners to put in a planning application for a change of use.
In the Epping case, the hotel’s owners Somani Hotels Ltd failed to apply for a change of use, leading to Epping Forest District Council taking action against them for a breach of planning permission.
Solihull Council also considers implications of Epping judgement
Solihull Council is also considering the implications of the Epping judgement.
A Solihull Council spokesperson said: “Once the full details are published, we will be able to consider what this might mean for Solihull Council and if there are any implications for the hotel in Solihull.”
Wirral council to consider options as Home Office intends to use former hotel for single male asylum seekers
Wirral council have said that they are considering their options after the Home Office informed them that a former hotel in their area will soon be used to house single male asylum seekers.
The former hotel is currently being used to house asylum seeking families and no planning consent has been brought to change the use of the hotel, the council said.
The Home Office informed the council at the end of June that they plan on relocating the families and using the building for asylum seeking men instead.
Reacting to Epping Forest Council’s victory at the High Court, a spokesperson for Wirral council said: “We will be considering the detail of the judgement and how it might impact on planning consent for the proposed use of the former hotel in Hoylake”.
Farage calls for protests following Epping ruling
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for protests following the Epping ruling.
Mr Farage wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “Now, the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain.
“Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex.
“Let’s hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.”
‘We strongly oppose the use of hotels as accommodation for people seeking asylum,’ says Newcastle City councillor
Councillor Karen Kilgour, Leader of Newcastle City Council said: “We are aware of the High Court injunction granted in Epping regarding the use of a hotel to house asylum seekers.
“Our position remains unchanged. We strongly oppose the use of hotels as accommodation for people seeking asylum. They are not appropriate or sustainable, either for the individuals involved or for the local community.
“As I have previously said, we are in active discussions with the Home Office around how the council can take greater control in the placement of asylum seekers in the city, while ending the use of hotels.
“We are confident we can achieve this without the need to seek an injunction.We recognise that people seeking asylum include families, women, and children, many of whom have faced unimaginable trauma.
“Newcastle has a proud history of offering sanctuary, and we stand ready to play our part – but it must be done in away that works for our city and supports the dignity and wellbeing of those who come here.”
Parliament ‘needs to make clear what you can do in terms of detaining people and not’
Former Home Office minister Damien Green has said the Government needs to “see if there are legal issues that need to be taken on by legislation” regarding the use of camps to house asylum seekers.
The former Conservative MP told the BBC’s World At One that Parliament “needs to make clear what you can do in terms of detaining people and not”.
When asked whether asylum seekers should be detained in camps, he said: “I mean, let’s check on them for a few days to check whether there are any criminal records or not, some of them will have criminal records.
“I think I agree you can’t just lock people up.”
Mr Green added that the UK needs to appear less welcoming to illegal migrants as the use of hotels is an “attraction factor”.
He said: “You need to have an all systems approach, where you don’t appear to be particularly welcoming. And I think our traditional welcome should not apply to people who are coming over in the boats.”
Minister brands Farage ‘the very worst’ kind of politician over asylum hotel claims
Security minister Dan Jarvis said he believes “the very worst politicians” try to drive people apart, when asked on Sky News about Nigel Farage’s opinion piece in the Telegraph on Wednesday about hotels housing asylum seekers.
Mr Jarvis said: “I haven’t read Mr Farage’s op-ed, but I’ve always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart.”
When asked whether the Government plans to appeal against the High Court’s decision on the hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, Mr Jarvis said: “Well, we’ll see where we get to with that specific decision. We’re looking very closely at it.
“The bigger issue is how we can tackle the asylum backlog. We inherited a very significant backlog from the previous government who effectively stopped processing asylum claims.
“That’s why we rediverted the resources that had been put in place for Rwanda to ensure that we can process asylum claims much more quickly than was previously the case.
“And I think the rate of processing is up by 116 per cent, we’ve returned 35,000 people over the last year who don’t have a right to be here.”
The Government should ‘go back to the idea of camps’, says Damian Green
Conservative former Home Office minister Damian Green has said the Government should “go back to the idea of camps” for housing asylum seekers.
Mr Green, who lost his seat in the general election last year, told the World At One: “What they should now do is actually toughen up the accommodation that we offer people to make it clear that it’s a deterrent as much as anything.
“So, go back to the idea of camps, whether purpose-built Nightingale Hospital-style buildings on parts of the land that the Government owns, or using existing military camps, all those sorts of things, so that is not seen as offensively luxurious by the people who have watched this happen in their communities over the past few years.”
When he was asked about the “difficulties” that have been run into when this has been attempted before, for example at Napier barracks, RAF Scampton, Wethersfield and the Penally camp, he said: “Some of them were genuine, some of them weren’t.
“A lot of the problems are indeed legal problems, where the courts say you can’t keep people there. And I do think the Government is going to have to confront the legal issue if they want to be effective in having a deterrent.”
Security minister says government ‘not paying’ Iraq for new migrant returns deal
Security minister Dan Jarvis has said the government is “not paying” Iraq for its new migrant returns deal, but had offered “specific financial support” to help the country tackle people-smuggling.
Speaking to LBC, Mr Jarvis said: “We have a good and constructive relationship with the Iraqis and there are a number of areas, both in terms of security but also serious organised crime, where we’re seeking to co-operate – defence is another one.”
The minister added: “We’re not paying them. When the Home Secretary was there at the back end of last year, there was some specific financial support that we provided to enable certain activity around targeting the smuggling networks.”
On the government’s plans following the High Court ruling that asylum seekers be removed from the Bell Hotel in Essex, Mr Jarvis said: “We are in the process of identifying contingency options for what’s going to happen to those people who are currently accommodated in that hotel in Epping.
When pressed on the details of these contingency options, he said: “With respect, the legal judgment was only handed down yesterday.”
