
6 arrested after MORE ‘mindless thuggery' outside Epping migrant hotel as cops make appeal to help find yobs
Chaos erupted outside The Bell Hotel in Essex last week after an asylum seeker appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
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The unrest saw yobs launching themselves on riot vans, smashing windshields and ripping off wingmirrors in senseless displays of "hooliganism".
One thug was even run over while attempting to stop a police van gaining access to the hotel.
Another man had his teeth knocked out after riot cops smashed a shield into his face in a brutal clash.
Since tensions reached boiling point, violent demonstrations have cost the force £100,000.
And Essex Police confirmed six more people have been detained this week.
Cops arrested two men, aged 36, and 47, on suspicion of violent disorder under Section 2 of the Public Order Act.
A 51-year-old has also now been charged with violent disorder.
A 34-year-old man remains in custody on suspicion of breaching Section 60AA of the Public Order Act.
Meanwhile, two teens aged 17 and 16, were also arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and going equipped to cause criminal damage, respectively.
But police are still appealing for more information and released CCTV of three men they wish to speak to.
The force wish to located them in connection with violent disorder, assaulting an emergency worker, and assault.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: "The cost of policing criminal incidents in Epping over the last week has reached £100,000 – money which we would much rather spend on continuing to cut crime across Essex and keeping our neighbourhoods safe.
"What we have seen in Epping over the last week is not protest, it's hooliganism and the people responsible for it can expect to be held accountable.
'To those who seek to use social media to peddle untruths and lies about the incidents in Epping on Thursday and Sunday, you won't win.
'The very people you are criticising are police officers who have families, who live in our communities and want to keep them safe.
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'These are the same people who have been antagonised with threatening and abusive language, they've had missiles thrown at them and they've been injured.
'Once again, to anyone who somehow thinks we will tolerate this behaviour – think again.
"We don't take sides; we arrest criminals and we have a duty to ensure no-one is hurt – it really is that simple.'
This comes after two people were arrested on Sunday night after thugs sparked brawls in the street.
The force confirmed eight officers were injured in the clash and two people have been arrested - one on suspicion of affray following reports of an assault, and the other for failing to comply with dispersal orders.
The man accused of affray, 65-year-old Dean Walters, has since been charged and the second suspect remains in custody.
On Wednesday night, video footage captured the dramatic moment a protestor was run over by a police riot van as chaos broke out.
Yobs allegedly tried to block the streets with green plastic blockades as officers navigated through angry crows.
Men could be seen kicking and punching several riot vans on the road.
But footage shows one man being driven into after failing to move.
The protest was sparked by a 38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker who was arrested and later charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who had been living at the Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, denies sexual assault.
He appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Thursday, July 10, where he denied all charges.
His arrest led to multiple protests in the region, culminating in the violent clashes.
There are about 210 hotels under contracts with the Home Office to house migrants.
A Sun investigation revealed 339 defendants who had been living at asylum hotels had appeared in magistrate's courts already this year.
Sir Keir Starmer released a statement in response to the growing tensions.
"Well, I think it's obviously important that communities know that we are working to reduce the number of asylum hotels," said the PM's spokesperson.
"That is a clear government policy. But it's also important that
legitimate protest doesn't cross over into something else, and we would always hope that communities would respect that.
"But we are, and I think the Prime Minister is on record as saying, about the need to cut migration, both lawfully and illegal migration, and that is something that you're seeing in working on tirelessly over the last year, whether it be the agreement with the French last week or the agreement with the German government yesterday, that is a priority for this government.
"It is something that requires international solutions, and that is why you're seeing this flurry of activity from this government to tackle these gangs from every possible angle.'
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Spectator
12 minutes ago
- Spectator
Two-tier policing has arrived in Epping
When it comes to protests against immigration and asylum hotels, accusations of two-tier policing are never far away. This week the spotlight has fallen on Essex Police, and its handling of a demonstration last week by Epping residents against an asylum hotel in the town, following an alleged sexual assault by a recently arrived Ethiopian migrant believed to be housed there. Essex Police has today tried to set the record straight Essex Police has been forced to admit that they escorted activists from the group Stand up to Racism to the Bell Hotel, the site of the protest. In video footage, police can be seen walking along an Epping street flanking a column of protesters, with two officers clearly at the head of the column and escorting it. Soon after this, the counter-protestors would reach the hotel. Why did the police lead them there? Assistant chief constable Stuart Hooper told the Telegraph: 'We have a reasonable duty to protect people who want to exercise their rights. In terms of bringing people to the hotel, the police have a duty to facilitate free assembly.' This afternoon, at a press conference trying to explain what had happened, chief constable Ben-Julian Harrington stood by this rationale. 'There is a duty on policing to allow people to exercise their right to assembly and protest', he said. That is one part of the police's duty – but there is also the duty to keep order and to keep people safe. Here were hundreds of justifiably angry locals demonstrating after a migrant allegedly sexually assaulted a schoolgirl from their community. Into the middle of this, Essex Police officers escorted dozens of protestors from out of town who were chanting 'refugees welcome here'. After this incomprehensible, dangerous decision, violence ensued, including against police officers. What on Earth were they thinking? This was the crucial question chief constable Harrington had to answer at today's press conference. Did he stand by that decision, asked GB News's Charlie Peters, given that it's obvious these opposing groups would 'confront each other and generate… hostility'? Harrington didn't deign to answer. 'It's not for me to comment… [on] that operation', he said. Harrington rejected calls from Reform's Nigel Farage to resign over the debacle. Harrington may be unwilling to take responsibility for this, but it seems Essex Police already know that escorting the counter-protestors to the hotel was a mistake. Why else would the force initially feel moved to deny that it had done so? First, it made no mention of this inconvenient fact in its statement on Friday about the previous evening's events. And then, when journalist and Spectator contributor David Shipley asked the force for comment over the weekend about the events of Thursday, Essex Police insisted that it had only escorted protestors away from the scene after tensions flared – not to the hotel. This face-saving narrative has now entirely unravelled after careful examination of locals' footage. Harrington's non-answer is clearly an inadequate response which will only add to longstanding anger about two-tier policing. In the policing of the disorder that ensued, we saw one man appear to be hit in the face with a riot shield, while another was apparently driven into by a police van and pushed down the street, before managing to get out the way. This makes for a striking contrast with the footage of officers escorting protestors around the town. Essex Police has today tried to set the record straight. In reality, it's done anything but.


The Independent
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