The court ruling requires that all asylum seekers must leave by September 12.
Asylum seeker Khadar Mohamed from The Bell Hotel, Epping (Image: Reach)
An asylum seeker at the Bell Hotel in Epping has lashed out at local protests, claiming they spread “pain and fear” among migrants – just days after a High Court banned the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers. The court ruling, issued earlier this week, found the Bell had breached planning laws and created a public safety risk, and required that all asylum seekers must leave by September 12.
The decision followed demonstrations outside the building, where police made at least nine arrests. Among the residents, two men have been charged with offences, including one accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old, a case still before the courts. Khadar Mohamed, 24, said: “We’ve got 50 to 60 days to leave. But there’s zero sympathy. They shriek and jeer at us. I speak good English, yet they call me scum. It hurts.”
Protesters calling for the closure of the The Bell Hotel (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “When I walk down the street, people make noises and faces at me. When I pass by, ladies hold their purses tighter. But I am not a thief and I am not a threat.”
Mohamed said he fled Somalia in 2022 after Al-Shabaab militants seized his village and ordered him to join. He explained: “They forced my sister into marriage, and when she resisted their ideology she was killed.
“They pulled me into their ranks, made me teach the Quran to children, and when I refused they cut a fingernail and stabbed me in the arm to show they controlled me.”
He said: “I spent two years in prison for rejecting them. A friend of the government secured my release and got me a visa for Turkey. From there I travelled through Greece and Austria, washing dishes to survive, before reaching the UK three months ago.”
Mohamed added: “I crossed from Dunkirk in May with 70 others, paying smugglers £800. My asylum claim is accepted, but now I do not know what happens next. I need a job and a home, but life is very uncertain.
“The people who do not want us here have achieved the result they wanted. Now let us hope there are no more protests or anger. Life is already difficult.”
The Bell Hotel became a flashpoint in recent months, with campaigners claiming it was unsuitable for asylum housing due to its location near five schools and a care home. Protests escalated into clashes with police, and demonstrators were arrested for public disorder, assault, and resisting officers.
Epping Forest District Council took the matter to the High Court, arguing the hotel had ceased operating as a genuine hotel and was therefore in breach of planning law. The court agreed, finding that the protests and disruption demonstrated real harm.
Speaking about the decision on Sky News, Dan Jarvis, Minister of State for Security, 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.”
Broxbourne Council has already sought legal advice on whether it can pursue similar action, while several other local authorities are reviewing their options. The Bell Hotel case is now seen as a precedent, and ministers expect more councils to follow.
Across the UK, around 32,000 asylum seekers are living in 210 hotels. Following the Epping ruling, thousands now face uncertainty over whether they too will be forced out as councils line up to challenge the Home Office’s use of hotels for migrants.
