Latest news with #BroxbourneCouncil
Sky News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Labour smell dirty tricks over asylum hotel court ruling - but the risks are clear
"It's an interesting moment," was how one government source described the High Court ruling that will force an Essex hotel to be emptied of asylum seekers within weeks. That may prove to be the understatement of the summer. For clues as to why, just take a glance at what the Home Office's own lawyer told the court on Tuesday. Granting the injunction"runs the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests", the barrister said - pointing out that similar legal claims by other councils would "aggravate pressures on the asylum estate". Right on cue and just hours after the ruling came in, Broxbourne Council - over the border in Hertfordshire - posted online that it was urgently seeking legal advice with a view to taking similar court action. The risks here are clear. Recent figures show just over 30,000 asylum seekers being housed in hotels across the country. If they start to empty out following a string of court claims, the Home Office will struggle to find alternative options. After all, they are only in hotels because of a lack of other types of accommodation. There are several caveats though. This is just an interim injunction that will be heard in full in the autumn. So the court could swing back in favour of the hotel chain - and by extension the Home Office. We have been here before Remember, this isn't the first legal claim of this kind. Other councils have tried to leverage the power of the courts to shut down asylum hotels, with varying degrees of success. In 2022, Ipswich Borough Council failed to get an extension to an interim injunction to prevent migrants being sent to a Novotel in the town. As in Epping, lawyers argued there had been a change in use under planning rules. But the judge eventually decided that the legal duty the Home Office has to provide accommodation for asylum seekers was more important. So there may not be a direct read across from this case to other councils. Home Office officials are emphasising this injunction was won on the grounds of planning laws rather than national issues such as public order, and as such, each case will be different. UK signs migrant return deal with Iraq The government is on Wednesday announcing a migrants return deal with Iraq. The deal, signed by Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, will set up a formal process to return Iraqis who have arrived in the UK with no right to stay in the country. It comes after an £800,000 deal with Baghdad last year to try to crack down on smuggling networks and organised crime. Home Office statistics said since previous deals, the number of Iraqis arriving in the UK by small boat has fallen to 1,900 in the year to March 2025, down from 2,600 in the previous year. Mr Jarvis said: "By working together on security, development and migration challenges, we are building stronger relationships that benefit both our countries whilst tackling shared challenges like organised crime and irregular migration." Similar agreements have already been made with Albania and Vietnam since Labour came into power. Earlier this month, the UK-France migrant deal came into force, where small boat migrants who have arrived over the English Channel from the French coast can be returned to the country in exchange for a legitimate asylum seeker. Failing Labour approach or Tory tricks? But government sources also smell dirty tricks from Epping Council and are suggesting that the Tory-led local authority made the legal claim for political reasons. Pointing to the presence of several prominent Tory MPs in the Essex area - as well as the threat posed by Reform in the county - the question being posed is why this legal challenge was not brought when asylum seekers first started being sent to the hotel in 2020 during the Conservatives ' time in government. Epping Council would no doubt reject that and say recent disorder prompted them to act. But that won't stop the Tories and Reform of seizing on this as evidence of a failing approach from Labour.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on the Epping hotel ruling: asylum seekers must not be treated as pariahs in a Faragian Britain
Asked on the radio what should happen to asylum seekers accommodated in a Hertfordshire hotel, if a court were to rule that they must be moved out, the Conservative leader of Broxbourne Council, Corina Gander, said flatly: 'That's the government's problem.' Ms Gander had indicated that she would seek to challenge the use of the hotel following Epping council's successful legal precedent. Other local authorities will surely follow suit. As Britain's immigration debate turns ever more ugly, that is a problem for the nation as well as the government. Far-right groups were energetically involved in this summer's protests outside the Essex hotel, which followed the arrest of an Ethiopian asylum seeker for alleged sexual offences. The high court ruling has handed them a major opportunity that they will certainly seize. Home Office lawyers were stating the obvious when warning that Mr Justice Eyre's decision to grant the council's shutdown request 'ran the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests'. Cue Nigel Farage. While posing as a benign patriot in the saloon bar, Reform UK's leader continues to do his utmost to foment social discord in the hope of political gain. His call for nationwide demonstrations 'to get the illegal immigrants out', in the wake of the Epping ruling, underlines that the migrant debate in Britain is now more toxic than at any point since the 1970s. The repeated targeting of accommodation this summer and last has, thankfully, yet to result in a tragedy. But the kind of rhetoric now being deployed against young, male asylum seekers by senior politicians across the right is making one more likely. Against such a dismal backdrop, Labour finds itself in a deeply invidious position. It is possible that a judicial review of the Epping case in the autumn may overturn Mr Justice Eyre's ruling. Failing that, the government is likely to need alternative forms of accommodation for thousands of refugees far sooner than it intended, having already pledged to end the use of hotels by 2029. Relying on private contractors to move more asylum seekers into flats and houses, in an already overheated rental sector, will create its own tensions. The memory of the notorious Manston holding centre – now the subject of an independent inquiry into allegations of overcrowding, abuse and misconduct – should act as a cautionary tale amid rightwing calls for 'detention camps'. As a first strategic step, Labour should activate coming break clauses with the three main private providers that governments have relied upon. The successful integration of asylum seekers into communities requires a level of public planning and local investment that has been woefully absent. Epping must be the catalyst for a new settlement with affected councils, involving a far more collaborative approach and a considerably more engaged state. Most importantly, perhaps, ministers must begin to make an unabashed moral case for compassion towards vulnerable and exposed human beings. Mr Justice Eyre's unanticipated decision, made on the grounds of preventing further disruptive demonstrations in Epping, will have the likely effect of amplifying protests elsewhere. Among a significant minority of the population, refugees are increasingly being treated as a pariah group, undeserving of empathy and assistance. That is not how the majority of Britons think. In testing times, Labour needs to speak more loudly on their behalf and trust its own better instincts.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's how much it costs to house asylum seekers in UK hotels
Councils across England may take legal action to remove asylum seekers from hotels after a court injunction A landmark court judgment that has temporarily blocked asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in Essex has left many councils considering similar court actions. On Tuesday (19 August) the High Court granted Epping Forest District Council an interim injunction to block asylum seekers from being housed at The Bell Hotel. The judge in the case ruled in favour of the council when it argued the hotel had become a public safety risk and had breached planning law. The hotel must stop housing asylum seekers by 4pm on 12 September. In response Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency' to perhaps take similar legal action. And Reform UK has stated that all 12 councils controlled by the party will "do everything in their power to follow Epping's lead", according to leader Nigel Farage. Why does this matter? The injunction poses a huge problem for the UK government who may now battle the court decision at the Court of Appeal and face the prospect of rehousing thousands. Home Office lawyers had argued during the hearing that the case had a "substantial impact" on the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, in performing her legal duties to asylum seekers. The Labour government's attempt to delay the application was rejected by Mr Justice Eyre. The Bell Hotel has become the focus of ongoing protests in recent weeks following allegations involving individuals residing there under the asylum system. The demonstrations began after Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an asylum seeker staying at the hotel, was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. He has denied these charges. In a separate case, another resident of the hotel, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has been charged with seven offences, which he denies. Additionally, several other men have been charged in connection with disorder that took place outside the premises. How many asylum seekers are placed in hotels? Since around 2020, there has been increased use of hotels for contingency asylum accommodation. The rise has been attributed to several factors, such as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent public health measures; an increase in the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats; and a backlog in unresolved asylum cases. Home Office data states that a total of 109,343 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2025. This was 17% more than in the year ending March 2024 and 6% more than the previous peak of 103,081 in 2002. The Migration Observatory, an independent research project focused on analysing migration and migrants in the UK, said that at the end of March there were 32,345 asylum seekers in hotels. This represents 30% of all supported asylum seekers in this period and has dropped from 34,530 last year and 47,518 in 2023. The peak number of asylum seekers housed was 56,042 at the end of September 2023. The majority of asylum seekers being housed in hotels are in London. In March 12,024 60% of asylum seekers living in hotels, were housed in the capital. A written parliamentary response in February 2025 confirmed 218 hotels were being used to house asylum seekers, with seven due to close in April. How much does it cost? Analysis by the Migration Observatory across 2024-25 states the average daily cost of housing an asylum seeker in a hotel was estimated to be £170 per person. This has decreased slightly in the financial year 2024/25 falling from the equivalent of £176 per person last year. The three-month average nightly rate in asylum hotels has also declined from £162 in April 2024 to £119 in March 2025, as the number of hotels being used also dropping. This reduction in cost is likely due to several factors, including the Home Office closing some hotels, accommodating more people in each hotel, implementing room-sharing policies, and possibly choosing hotels with cheaper nightly rates. The cost of using a hotel is more than six times more expensive than using other types of accommodation, with a rate of £27 being the average for other types of accommodation. When you multiply the three-month average rate of £119 per night, by the number of housed asylum seekers, it costs the UK government around £3,849,055 per night. Arguing for the Bell Hotels owner's Somani Hotels, Piers Riley-Smith, said during the court hearing that asylum seekers a "financial lifeline" to the hotel. He added it was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers. Why hotel court ruling creates such a problem The Home Office has been attempting to come to grips with a growing number of asylum seekers attempting to find alternatives to costly hotels. Labour has said it plans to empty the hotels housing asylum seekers by 2029, although some contracts run beyond this. The judge ruled against Somani Hotels, after Epping Forest District Council cited alleged breaches of planning laws. The government will likely challenge the decision, as they did on Tuesday, believing the ruling "substantially impact" the government's ability to house asylum seekers. If other local councils follow Epping's lead, and are successful, this could mean the mass rehousing of thousands of migrants. Dan Jarvis, Minister of State for Security, said Labour has "never thought that hotels were an appropriate source of accommodation for asylum seekers" and the government was looking at "alternative accommodation arrangements". In June, a Home Affairs Committee heard how the government was looking at buying tower blocks and former student accommodation to house migrants. Another possible alternative is for the government to house asylum seekers in flats or houses that have been rented from private landlords or social housing providers. These plans can be resisted locally, as when in October this year more than 1,000 people protested in Waterlooville, Hampshire, when plans were announced accommodate 35 families in flats above shops. The removal of migrants from hotels to private accommodation is likely to save the UK government money, as hotels are the most expensive way to house asylum seekers. This would also mean many would be relocated to housing in 'cheaper areas' of the UK, according to former Conservative MP Damian Green, who served as a minster under Theresa May. Subsequent governments have failed to establish large accommodation sites in buildings such as disused military barracks. One site, Wethersfield, a former Ministry of Defence site in Braintree, Essex, may increase its capacity to house single adult male asylum seekers. But creating large-scale sites like this can be costly. In 2024, the National Audit Office (NAO), published a report which revealed the initial set-up costs for Wethersfield were initially estimated at about £5m, but had ballooned to around £49m. Mr Green said the government should use purpose-built housing, like the Nightingale hospitals used during Covid to "toughen up" the accommodation to use as a deterrent so as not seen as 'offensively luxurious'. In 2022 the Conservative government said it would use 'large sites', such as former military facilities, barges, ferries, and cruise ships. One such site was The Bibby Stockholm, a converted barge moored in Dorset which was subsequently decommissioned by the Labour government in November 2024 amid safety concerns. The barge, which provided accommodation for up to 400 single male asylum seekers a night at maximum occupancy, had cost the taxpayer at least £34.8m, according to the National Audit Office. Another site that could be adapted for use is the Napier Barracks in Kent, which is set to be closed in September 2025. In June 2021 it was found that the site provided inadequate accommodation for asylum seekers, that the Home Office's process for selecting people to be accommodated at the Barracks was flawed and unlawful, and that residents of Napier Barracks were unlawfully detained.
The Herald Scotland
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Councils consider legal bids as ministers face Epping hotel ruling aftermath
The ruling blocks asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town, and current residents must be removed by September 12. On Wednesday, some Conservative and Reform UK-led authorities said they were looking at their options to take similar action. Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire has said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency', while Tory-run East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire said officers are investigating and 'will take appropriate action'. Reform UK-led councils, West Northamptonshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, also said the authorities would look at the options available after the High Court ruling. When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000. He is no friend of Epping. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 20, 2025 Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: 'The control and protection of our country's borders is a national issue, but the impact of central government policy is felt in communities across Staffordshire.' It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has indicated that councils run by his party will consider their own legal challenges. However, a number of these councils do not have responsibility for planning permission, which may limit their ability to launch legal challenges. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel after it had been at the centre of protests in recent weeks. The demonstrations came after an asylum seeker, who was staying there, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Protests took place outside the hotel (Jordan Pettitt/PA) He denies the charge and is due to stand trial later this month. 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'. Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, security minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. 'Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have. A STATEMENT FROM NIGEL FARAGE This is a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping. They do not want their young women being assaulted on the streets. This community stood up bravely, despite being slandered as far right, and have won. They represent the vast… — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 19, 2025 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. 'That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' On Wednesday shadow home secretary Chris Philp also pressed ministers not to re-house the asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel into other hotels or flats 'sorely needed by young people'. In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Mr Philp wrote: 'Up and down the country people are furious about the number of illegal migrants being housed in hotels – which rose in the nine months following the election under Labour. Following the ruling in Epping and the ongoing migrant crisis I have written to Yvette Cooper calling for: 1. An emergency cabinet meeting (they had one for recognising Palestine recently) to bring forward plans for the immediate deportation of all illegal immigrants upon… — Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 20, 2025 'People are also concerned that you are now moving people from hotels into apartments and other accommodation which is sorely needed by young people here who are struggling under this Labour Government.' The Conservative MP also called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to set up plans to deport migrants crossing the Channel on arrival. Meanwhile Mr Farage has called for peaceful protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers to put pressure on local authorities to take the same route as Epping Forest. Writing in The Telegraph, he said: 'Now the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain. 'Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex. 'Let's hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.' Our work with international partners is vital to stopping small boat crossings to the UK. A joint intelligence unit involving the @NCA_UK and French counterparts has helped dismantle at least 52 organised immigration crime gangs operating in France. — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) August 17, 2025 The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels.
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
More England councils plan to challenge asylum hotels after Essex ruling
Councils across England are weighing up their own legal challenges after a high court ruling blocked people seeking asylum from being housed in an Essex hotel. The Conservative-run Broxbourne council in Hertfordshire said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency' on whether it could follow the example of neighbouring Epping Forest district council, which successfully applied for an injunction to stop asylum seekers being accommodated at the Bell hotel in the town. Corina Gander, the leader of Broxbourne council, said a hotel in the town of Cheshunt put 'an enormous strain on local services'. 'We are going to be looking at the ruling of Epping yesterday and we will be expecting to go down the same path as Epping,' the Conservative councillor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Gander said her council had previously tried to get legal advice to block the hotel, but had not been successful. 'What Epping have done is they have really set a precedent for local councils,' she added. Ministers are braced for such legal challenges, as the government is working on contingency plans to house asylum seekers. The security minister, Dan Jarvis, told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels had the proper planning permission, Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) district council have. 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. That's precisely why the government has made a commitment that, by the end of this parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' The ruling has been seized on by Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, who said the party's 12 councils would also consider such challenges. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Farage said those authorities would do 'everything in their power' to replicate Epping's approach, describing the case as a template for resistance to the Home Office's use of hotels. Jarvis, a home office minister, said he believed 'the very worst politicians' tried to drive people apart, when asked on Sky News about Farage's opinion piece in the Telegraph on Wednesday about hotels housing asylum seekers. He told the broadcaster: 'I haven't read Mr Farage's op-ed, but I've always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart. The decision followed weeks of far-right protests in Epping, including clashes outside the Bell hotel, where an asylum seeker has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The judge gave the Home Office until 12 September to stop housing asylum seekers at the site. The Home Office had argued that granting an injunction risked setting a precedent and warned it could hinder its legal duty to provide accommodation. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, used the case to call for tougher measures to halt Channel crossings. Writing in the Daily Express he said 'every illegal arrival must be removed, every loophole must be closed' to prevent other towns being put in a similar position. Not all Conservative councils are rushing to the courts, however. The leader of South Norfolk council, Daniel Elmer, said his authority would instead use planning rules to ensure hotels in this area housed families rather than single men. 'If we can punish people who put up sheds in their gardens without permission, then we can take action against hotels being converted into hostels,' he said. According to recent Home Office figures, there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that insiders at the Home Office had admitted the department had been left 'reeling' by the ruling. The department is obliged to house asylum seekers until their cases are assessed.
