Epping councillor says tensions have hit ‘boiling point’ as she blasts Government amid continued anti-migrant protests

Thursday night saw a massive police presence descend on the leafy town, as hundreds gathered to march on the local council offices in protest over the Bell Hotel being used to house asylum seekers.

There have been a series of demonstrations in Epping since asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with sexual assault after an incident earlier this month in which he is alleged to have attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl.

Over ten police vans are at the scene, with presence from Kent Police, Met Police, Warwickshire, West Mercia, Hampshire, Staffordshire, Norfolk and the Welsh force.

Essex Police said the protests at the Bell Hotel, which houses asylum seekers, began peacefully but “escalated to the point of disorder and criminal damage”.

Read More: Moment police raid home of 'Epping migrant hotel protester' and arrest suspect accused of violent disorder

Seventeen people have been arrested in relation to the protests so far.

Speaking during a council meeting on Thursday, Epping Forest councillor Holly Whitbread slammed Labour’s response to the ongoing protests.

She said: “The government have ignored us for too long.

“They’re treating our community with contempt as it reaches boiling point.

“There’s no transparency around who is in the hotel and people are afraid In their own homes.

“Epping has become the epicentre of concern nationally about asylum hotels.”

LBC’s Fraser Knight was on the ground in Epping on Thursday evening when 200 demonstrators marched from the Bell Hotel, through the town’s high street, to the local council offices.

A dispersal order in Epping was issued for Thursday afternoon.

The order, which is in place from 2pm on Thursday until 8am on Friday, covers an area including the town centre and transport hubs and networks such as the tube station.

It gives officers the power to direct anyone suspected of committing anti-social behaviour, or planning to do so, to leave the area or face arrest.

Protestors can be seen penned in by fences.

Essex Police said there will be designated sites "where people who want to make their voices heard can lawfully do that".

The sites are directly opposite The Bell Hotel and will have their own designated entry and exit routes.

An Epping council chief has demanded the "immediate and permanent closure" of two asylum hotels after violence erupted outside.

Council leader Chris Whitbread claimed "repeated warnings to the Home Office about the unsuitability of both sites have gone unheeded”, The Standard reports.

He said several incidents linked to asylum seekers staying in the Bell Hotel in Epping and the Phoenix Hotel in Bobbingworth have sparked violence in recent weeks.

He said the council "expresses grave concern that there is no transparency over who is being housed in these hotels, or what risk they may pose to the community".

The local authority alleges that “the Government’s actions are reckless and have potentially endangered public safety”.

Their statement calls on the Home Office to “cease the use of unsuitable hotels in small towns and rural areas for asylum processing”.

The Home Secretary said: “We inherited a broken asylum and immigration system, and that's why we've been taking action step by step, including 6,000 fewer asylum seekers in hotels in the last six months, and a 28% increase in returns of failed asylum seekers since the election, but it takes time to tackle that broken system.

"I think the police do a really important job across our country, keeping communities safe, and it's really important, frankly, that people support our police rather than just attacking them continually, as we've seen from Reform, one day calling for Chief Constables to resign, the other day telling women police officers they’re not fit for the job.

"I think it's really important across the country that we all support our police, at a time when they are working so hard to keep our communities safe.”