Could the Epping asylum hotel injunction set a precedent for other councils?
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hailed the High Court decision in Epping as a 'victory', saying he hopes it 'provides inspiration to others across the country,' while the shadow home secretary argued that residents have 'every right to object' to people being housed in their area.
But those inside the Home Office are said to be "furious" about the court's decision, with one source telling ITV News' Home Editor Paul Brand that the move was a "dangerous judgement".
Could the decision in Epping set a precedent for other councils?
The 12 councils where Reform UK is the largest party are understood to be exploring the prospect of legal challenges following Tuesday's ruling.
The prospect of countless other councils bringing their own legal cases against hotels housing migrants would prove to be a logistical headache for the government.
But there are many who feel this is a sign that the court is in line with feelings among the general population.
Reacting to the news, Mr Farage said that 'young, undocumented males who break into the UK illegally should NOT be free to walk the streets anywhere. They must be detained and deported'.
'I hope that Epping provides inspiration to others across the country,' he said.
Lancashire County Council, which is under the control of Reform UK, is said to the most advanced in its stage of planning to bring a court case.
Members of the Conservative Party also welcomed the High Court's decision, with Tory councils potentially looking at legal cases themselves.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch suggested that the migrants housed at the hotel 'need to be moved out of the area immediately', while her shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that 'residents should never have had to fight their own government just to feel safe in their own town'.
He said: 'Local residents have every right to feel safe in their own streets and every right to object when their community is treated as a dumping ground.'
How has the Labour Party responded?
The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could 'interfere' with the department's legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a 'precedent'.
It accuses judges of meddling in asylum policy, as with immigration cases where criminals have been allowed to stay in the UK under human rights rulings by judges.
ITV News' Paul Brand said that sources within the party feel that councils are going to waste taxpayers' money fighting a government that is already working to end use of hotels by asylum seekers.
And the government has pointed to the reaction of other parties as political game-playing.
The Home Office has insisted it has reduced the number of asylum seeker hotels from 402 to 210.
It has also been keen to point out that the Bell Hotel, the subject of the High Court injunction, was opened under the Conservative Party although the Conservatives say that they closed it again.
But look, whether it's in the channel, whether it's in Parliament or whether it's now here at the courts, new fronts are opening up all the time now in this battle that the government's facing over immigration.
What was the reaction to the injunction in Epping?
The leader of Epping Forest District Council said the government does not have a plan to accommodate asylum seekers and did not listen to concerns that they should not be housed at the Bell Hotel.
The council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel.
The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Chris Whitbread, who also leads the Conservative group at the Essex authority, said that failures to improve the system for processing asylum applications were also causing distress 'up and down the country'.
Speaking on Tuesday after the judgement, he said: "We have always raised our concerns with the Home Office, whether it be the previous government or this government, we raised our concerns.
'This government decided to start using the hotel again without consultation and purely by instruction; they didn't listen to our concerns.
'Five schools are in close proximity, a residential care home, lots of residential homes nearby, they didn't listen to us at all, that is the fundamental difference.'Reacting to the judgment, border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: 'This government inherited a broken asylum system, at the peak there were over 400 hotels open.
'We will continue working with local authorities and communities to address legitimate concerns. Our work continues to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament.
'We will carefully consider this judgment. As this matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.'
The government has also stressed that the injunction handed down today is an interim judgment, which will be tested again in the coming months.
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