Home Office seeks to appeal court ruling on Epping asylum hotel
The government is seeking to overturn a High Court decision that blocked its attempt to intervene in a case concerning a hotel in Epping used to house asylum seekers.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s last-minute bid to have Epping Council’s case dismissed was rejected by the court. If the government succeeds in its latest effort to be involved, it is expected to launch a fresh appeal against the ruling itself.
While ministers have pledged to close all asylum hotels, they insist this must happen in a controlled and orderly way. “That’s why we will appeal this decision,” said Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis.
A senior Home Office source told the BBC that the case raised questions of democratic accountability, arguing that the judiciary “should not be allowed to dictate where the government can and cannot place asylum seekers.”
The case has inflamed tensions locally. Thousands of protesters gathered in Epping, Essex, after an asylum seeker was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
Epping Council argued that the continued use of the Bell Hotel carried a “strong likelihood” of further inflaming community tensions, which were already high, and posed the risk of “irreparable harm” to the area.
The Home Office had applied to intervene in the lawsuit before judgment was handed down, warning that the outcome could “significantly impact” its ability to use hotels across the UK for housing asylum seekers.
However, the court ruled in favour of the council, ordering that the 140 asylum seekers currently staying at the hotel must leave by 16:00 BST on 12 September.
Since the ruling, more than half a dozen councils are reported to be considering similar legal action. Protests and counter-protests are also expected to continue outside asylum hotels across the region in the coming days.
