Essex police warn against violence as far right exploit asylum hotel tensions
Assaults on two security staff by a group of men at a protest near the hotel in Epping on Sunday were being treated by investigators as racially aggravated, Essex police said.
Both men received hospital treatment for serious injuries, according to the force, which said it also arrested a man on Tuesday after damage was caused to The Bell hotel by an individual who was seen shouting racial abuse outside it.
Tensions were high ahead of the latest appearance in court on Thursday of an asylum seeker who has been charged with three counts of sexual assault. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, denies the offences, and is due to appear at Chelmsford magistrates court.
There are concerns of further protests outside the hotel on Thursday, while an anti-racism demonstration is scheduled to take place near the town's rail station. Far-right activists, who have a significant local presence, were central to the protest on Sunday and have been vocal on community Facebook groups.
Two local Conservative MPs called on Labour to immediately close the hotel and another in Epping, which have been used to house asylum seekers. The situation had become 'increasingly alarming and distressing in recent days,' said Neil Hudson and Alex Burghart.
The flare-up comes ahead of the first anniversary of last summer's riots, which began after the murders of three young girls in Southport and resulted in attempts to burn down hotels housing asylum seekers.
The chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said there was a need to speed up plans to end the use of asylum hotels, which he said had become a 'flashpoint for tension in communities, cost billions to the taxpayer, and leave people trapped in limbo'.
Security fencing went up around the hotel on Wednesday. A man who said he was an asylum seeker from Libya told the Guardian that he and others still felt safe. 'We are being treated well and we just want our cases to be heard,' he added. 'There is no trouble.'
A local resident said that while they and others in the community had concerns, it was also the case that outside elements and local activists had been trying to inflame the situation.
'There is a very vocal hardcore local group,' they added. 'Most people would rather it was not there, that it was back as a hotel, but it is what it is and maybe there's a case for new arrivals to be kept somewhere more secure and be checked.'
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Supt Tim Tubbs, of Essex police, said: 'We understand people's right to make their voices heard on issues which matter to them. People who do this peacefully, lawfully and responsibly cause us – and the wider public – no concern. However, we can never and will never tolerate criminal violence of any sort.'
A Home Office spokesperson said the government had already taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum.
'The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, but this cannot cross the line into unlawful or violent behaviour. We continue to work closely with Essex police,' she added.
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