The Epping ‘protests' make me ashamed to admit I'm from Essex
It feels silly to admit it, now, but I felt distinctly haunted by the typical 'Essex girl' tropes, even at 18. When I met my then-boyfriend's family in Bristol, I still remember that the first thing his dad said was to tease me by asking if I'd driven down the M4 in a clapped out Ford Fiesta.
White stilettos, orange fake tan and reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex (or 'TOWIE', to those in the know – and of course I went to school with half of the cast); we've long been the butt of the nation's jokes, both on and off screen. Our unofficial royals are Gemma Collins and Joey Essex. Need I say more?
Thankfully, I grew out of that childish shame that leads you to reject where you come from – when people ask me where I'm from, I say 'Essex' again. Except that right now, I'm seriously considering going back in the closet.
That's because when I woke to news that 'protests' had broken out in Epping – the place I used to go 'out out' as a teen, the place I still meet old schoolfriends in for lunch, the place my relatives still live in – I felt deeply, deeply ashamed. Even more so when footage showed hordes of people clashing with police outside a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers.
Essex Police said missiles were thrown at officers and the hotel, police vans and vehicles smashed, the high street brought to a standstill and one officer injured, while eight officers in total were assaulted – in what the force described as 'extreme hostility from a large number of individuals'. Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper described it as 'selfish criminal behaviour' perpetuated by 'a mindless minority who don't give a damn about the hardworking, good people of Epping'.
He added: 'Help us get them, because the people of Essex are proud people and these streets are ours.' He's right. To my mind, these 'protests' showcase the very worst of Essex. The worst of Britain, full-stop.
Depressingly, it's not even an isolated incident. The first pathetic 'protest' was reportedly planned in advance and took place on Sunday night, followed by further disruption on Thursday. The excuse? A 38-year-old resident there was accused, last week, of sexual assault.
Now, I have no idea about the alleged sexual assault case involving Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court earlier in the day. I don't know the details, or the outcome. Neither do these 'protesters'. But what I do know is that their behaviour helps no-one – least of all the alleged victim.
And what almost amuses me (except that it's... not funny) is that I wrote only yesterday about the number of sexual assaults and incidents of harassment myself and my friends have experienced on the Tube – from being followed by 'burping, farting men' to catcalls, groping and obscene gestures.
But what if I also repeat the sad fact that in almost every incident of male to female violence on public transport, not a single person steps in to help us – or to report it happening? How do people explain themselves for this utter failure to call out harassment when it's actually happening right in front of them – to anyone, by anyone?
I took an unsavoury trawl through a local Facebook group, to see how people were reacting to the protests, but the ignorance was shocking.
Some attempted to excuse the behaviour in the name of 'protecting kids'; while many blamed the government. Thankfully, there were also voices pointing out that thuggery isn't welcome in the area. 'So people not from Epping have gone to Epping to cause trouble', one said. Another called it 'disgusting, attacking the police' – and one long-term resident said this is 'not the Epping l used to know and come from – this is NOT a protest, it's DISGRACEFUL behaviour.'
Hear, hear. This is not the Essex I know, believe in – or want to be associated with. If anyone asks, I'm from north-east London, again...
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Gaping hole' in DBS regulations let paedophile prey on children
A "gaping hole" in the law meant a convicted paedophile could lead activities for children where he used the access to abuse them, a charity has said. Nicholas Moxham ran parties in Manchester but did not need to have to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, a common test for people working with young people which would have revealed his previous conviction, because he was who was detained for four years in 1992 after wounding a woman and received a caution in 1997 for indecent exposure, was jailed for at least 19 years after being convicted of a series of sex offences against women and children in 2024, some of which took place at the charity Freedom from Abuse said the law should be changed to ensure "anyone" working with children underwent DBS checks. Moxham ran party experiences involving laser tag, zorbing, go-karting and science demonstrations through companies he owned in buildings, outdoor areas and woodland he had hired from Parrs Wood High discovered that in 2016 he had lured three children who were playing laser tag to a hidden area of the woodland being filmed by a camera he had hidden in leaves and exposed himself and acted indecently while their backs were also found that between 2018 and 2019, he hid a motion-activated camera in the toilets of an outbuilding that was used by both children and adults attending his of those filmed by Moxham have been identified by also kept devices containing indecent images of children and animals in a storage unit at the school. 'Children being harmed' Teachers and other employees who work with children and are unsupervised by senior staff must have an enhanced DBS, which looks for criminal records and ensures they have not been banned from working with children. However, anyone employing themselves through their own company is not legally required to have a DBS certificate, though self-employed people can obtain checks by applying through agencies, professional organisations or specialist parents were usually present at Moxham's events, but regulations mean that only the presence of senior staff negates the need for an enhanced DBS certificate in such circumstances for anyone not working for their own whose name has been changed to protect her identity, booked Moxham for one of her son's birthday said most parents "just assume that these people have been checked and that it is safe"."I'd trusted him, it was at a school, it was a registered company, I'd done the research, I'd looked at the reviews," she said."What more can you do?" For support and information around the issues raised in this piece, go to BBC Action Line Freedom from Abuse's Marilyn Hawes said "anyone" working with children should need to undergo checks for previous convictions or cautions."It's a gaping hole that children are falling down and being harmed," Ms Hawes Miller from law firm Farleys said DBS checks were "there for employers" and in circumstances where self-employed people had been booked, it was "essentially left to the parents or guardians" to make sure that those providing the service had been "appropriately checked".The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases but is understood to be looking at extending the scope of enhanced criminal records checks to self-employed people who work closely with children and vulnerable adults. When Moxham was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in July 2024, Judge John Potter said he was a "determined and predatory sexual offender" who used his businesses "as a means to sexually exploit children".The judge also said his "random attack" in 1992 had been motivated by his "anger" towards women, because of their "disinterest" in him, and that Moxham had shown he had "a capacity to cause very serious harm".He added that the school should review whether "appropriate checks were made" before his business was allowed to operate teacher Mark McElwee said Moxham "ran an independent business that was not connected to our school beyond the fact that his business held events for the wider community when the school was closed on premises he hired out from us".He said "all correct procedures" were followed in relation to the site hire and "no concerns were raised with us in relation to this, either at the time or during a subsequent safeguarding review of our lettings procedures once the offending came to light".He added that the school had been "shocked and appalled by the offences committed" and "additional requirements for hire arrangements" had since been brought in. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Telegraph
7 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Jess Phillips says Nigel Farage would enable ‘modern day Jimmy Saviles'
Jess Phillips has joined criticism of Reform UK's pledge to repeal the Online Safety Act, suggesting such a move would empower 'modern-day Jimmy Saviles'. Ms Phillips, the Home Office minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, appeared to accuse Nigel Farage of being more concerned about 'clicks for his monetised social media accounts' than children's safety online. She backed her colleague Peter Kyle after his row with the Reform UK leader last week. The Technology Secretary said Mr Farage was putting himself on the side of 'extreme pornographers' and people like Savile by opposing the law. Under rules that came into effect on July 25 as part of the act, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children from accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide. Mr Farage has said the legislation threatens freedom of speech and open debate. Writing in The Times, Ms Phillips said: 'Farage said it's the biggest threat to freedom of speech in our lifetimes. 'My colleague Peter Kyle said he was siding with modern-day Jimmy Saviles preying on children online.' She said she would like to speak to Mr Farage about 'one of those modern-day Saviles, Alexander McCartney '. McCartney, who posed as a teenage girl to befriend young females from across the globe on Snapchat and other platforms before blackmailing them, 'just needed a computer' to reach his targets, Ms Phillips wrote. Believed to be one of the world's most prolific online offenders, McCartney abused at least 70 children online and drove one girl to suicide. Ms Phillips said the Online Safety Act exists to try to provide a 'basic minimum of protection, and make it harder for paedophiles to prey on children at will'. She said police have told her that paedophile networks use 'normal websites where their parents assume they're safe' to coerce and blackmail young people. 'Perhaps Nigel Farage doesn't worry about that - there's no political advantage in it, and no clicks for his monetised social media accounts. But I do. 'I worry about what it means now and what it will mean when boys reared on a diet of ultra-violent online child abuse are adult men having children of their own. I can't ignore that, neither can Peter Kyle, and, most importantly, nor can millions of parents across the country. 'I defy Nigel Farage to tell me what any of that has to do with free speech. 'I defy him to meet even one parent who has lost a daughter to suicide because she was being blackmailed online and tell them that is just the price of civil liberties. Maybe he'd feel differently after that kind of meeting, or maybe he wouldn't care.' Her comments echo those of Mr Kyle, who said last week: 'Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he'd be perpetrating his crimes online. And Nigel Farage is saying that he's on their side.' Mr Farage demanded an apology from the Technology Secretary, who refused to withdraw the remarks.
BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
Six arrests after man seriously injured in stabbing in Luton
Six people have been arrested after a man was seriously injured in a Police was called to an incident in Morgan Close, Luton at about 13:35 BST on Sunday. The force said six people were arrested at a property in nearby Homedale Drive and remained in appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward and said officers would remain in the area while further inquiries were carried out. Det Insp Clare Gilbert said: "We understand that this is shocking incident for those in the area."We responded quickly and were able to make a number of arrests shortly after the stabbing took place." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
