Protesters gathered outside of the Bell Hotel after a court ruled migrants are allowed to stay.
A small number of people were arrested, says Essex Police. (Image: Getty)
Three men have been arrested in Epping after locals took to the street in protest over a Court of Appeal decision to allow the 138 asylum seekers living at the Bell Hotel to stay there. The Home Office won a legal appeal after it had been ruled that Epping’s council no longer had to house asylum seekers there. The overturning of this decision has sparked protests and “violent disorder” in Essex as residents took to the streets. Essex Police said three men were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, assaulting a police officer and drink driving.
This follows the decision by three senior judges who ruled that Yvette Cooper’s department can intervene in the case related to a temporary injunction concerning the town in Essex. Somani Hotels, which owns the property, and the Home Office sought to challenge a High Court ruling which would have prevented 138 asylum seekers from being housed there beyond September 12.
The Court Of Appeal overturned order to evict asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel in Epping. (Image: Getty)
Assistant chief constable Glen Pavelin said: “Protest is a democratic right, and we’ll always do all we can to facilitate that, for every group seeking to make their voice heard.
“The overwhelming majority of people in Epping tonight clearly wanted their voices to be heard and they did that safely and without the need for a police response.
“However, the right to protest does not include a right to commit crime and tonight a small number of people were arrested. Two officers sustained injuries which are thankfully not serious.
“Officers will remain in the area in the coming hours to ensure the dispersal order which remains in place is adhered to.”
An Essex Police spokesman added: “Throughout the evening, three people were arrested; one man was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, a second man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and a third man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after a car was driven on the wrong side of the road towards a police cordon. All three remain in custody.”
Locals who had been protesting for weeks express their “devastation”. (Image: Getty)
Essex Police implemented two Section 14s of the Public Order Act 1986 which ordered anyone outside of the hotel to leave by 9.30 and a group gathered on the High Road to leave by 10pm. Both were adhered to.
A dispersal order was also issued until 6am on Saturday, giving the police the right to abolish unlawful assembly.
Police now brace for further protests and counter-demonstrations which are planned across a number of towns on Saturday (30 August). This includes Braintree, Luton, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Stockport and Barry.
