Multiple demonstrations have been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping since July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
People demonstrate near the Bell Hotel on July 20, 2025 in Epping. (Image: GETTY)
A council has unanimously voted to urge the Government to close a hotel housing asylum seekers following a series of protests around the site in Essex. Multiple demonstrations have been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping since July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Dozens of protesters gathered at the site again on Thursday evening. Police have made 18 arrests and charged seven people in connection with the demonstrations. The Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has also reportedly urged the Home Secretary to review the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers.
Epping Forest District Council passed a motion on Thursday to call on the Government “to immediately and permanently close” the hotel “for the purposes of asylum processing”.
A person holds a flare during a protest outside the Bell Hotel on July 20. (Image: Getty Images)
The council unanimously voted in favour of the motion. The father of the girl allegedly assaulted by Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, said “it’s not fair that the Government are putting our children and grandchildren at risk, even their own”.
In the message read to the meeting by Councillor Shane Yerrell, he added: “I do not want or condone any of the violence that has taken place at the protests – that’s not what we’re about, and that’s not what we’re trying to achieve – it’s only going to make things go the other way.
“I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we are feeling right now.”
Kebatu denied sexually assaulting the 14-year-old girl at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and will stand trial in August.
Speakers criticised the disorder that has erupted at some of the gatherings, and the reported attendance of members of the far right.
They also raised concerns that the hotel is close to a school.
Councillor Jon Whitehouse said the people of Epping “can fight their own battles and want their Thursdays and Sundays back”.
He said: “I’m appalled it’s been necessary for (the police) to arrive in Epping in such volume and such force because of the violence and the intimidation that we’ve experienced here.
“Facilitating passionate, lawful protest is a difficult and an important task – it’s made more difficult when those with no interest in the community of Epping choose to exploit those concerns, exploit the victims of crime and awful experiences for their own warped ends.
“If you’re here to stir up violence and confrontation in the surge of warped ideology – or maybe for some social media clicks – we don’t want you and we don’t need you.”
Police facilitated a “peaceful protest” outside the civic centre while the meeting took place inside.
In a letter to Yvette Cooper, the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said the hotel is unsuitable for housing migrants and is “clearly creating community tension”, the Telegraph reported.
Roger Hirst continued: “[I am] requesting a meeting to discuss the ongoing use of hotels in the Epping Forest district of Essex, and elsewhere in the county, to accommodate newly arrived asylum seekers.
“Specifically, I am seeking to highlight the unsuitability of The Bell Hotel in Epping for this purpose, and request that its use be reviewed. The presence of asylum seeker accommodation in this district is clearly creating community tension.
“These large-scale protests are disrupting local life and placing an unwelcome burden on Essex Police resources.”
Last Thursday’s protest began peacefully but escalated into what officers described as “scattered incidents of violence” targeting police and property.
The force previously said a small number of people used that demonstration as cover to commit violent disorder and criminal damage.
Eight officers were injured, and a number of police vehicles were damaged as missiles were thrown.
The latest developments come as police are braced for further protests, and the Government and law enforcement have vowed to act swiftly if unrest spreads.
The protest has drawn national attention and sparked a political row, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington to resign over claims that officers transported left-wing protesters to the scene, claims the Essex Police chief has denied.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said on Thursday night: “I want to thank all those who protested peacefully this evening.
“We put a number of measures in place to ensure you could express your democratic right peacefully, lawfully, and safely.
“As I have consistently said, we will not tolerate anyone who believes they can come here to commit crime and disorder. If you think you can, we will deal with you.
“We had robust plans in place this evening to ensure people could demonstrate peacefully and to ensure they, and the wider community, are kept safe.”
