Epping council eyes Supreme Court over hotel

A council spokesperson said: "Indicating our intention to appeal does not commit us to further action but facilitates the later process, should we decide to do so.

"Refusal of the Court of Appeal to allow our request would not close our opportunity. The council would still have the right to apply directly to the Supreme Court."

The district council had argued at the High Court that the site owner, Somani Hotels, had breached planning rules by not notifying the local authority of its plans for the Bell.

But Somani Hotels and the Home Office – which places migrants at the site – took the case to the Court of Appeal.

The judge there, Lord Justice Bean, said the temporary injunction ruling was "seriously flawed in principle".

Conservative council leader Chris Whitbread had argued that the "intolerable strain on our community" caused by protests was reason to close the site.

However, Lord Justice Bean said this argument risked "encouraging further lawlessness".

On Friday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the judgement proved that migrants had "more rights than the British people under [Keir] Starmer".

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it "puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of the British people".

Border Security and Asylum Minister Dame Angela Eagle said the latest judgement would assist the government in ending the use of hotels in a "planned and orderly fashion".

She added: "We all want the same thing, which is to get out of asylum hotels".

Refugee and migrant groups welcomed the Court of Appeal judgement, and Steve Smith from Care4Calais said: "[It] made it clear that violent protest, and in many cases overt racism, is not a fast-track route for the far-right to attack the rights of people seeing sanctuary in this country."

A full High Court hearing to discuss a permanent injunction for the Bell had already been scheduled for October.

Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with disorder near the hotel, and many of them have been charged.

The recent wave of protests followed the arrest and subsequent charging of an asylum seeker living at the hotel with several offences including the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

Hadush Kebatu, who is from Ethiopia, is on trial and denies the offences.