Police vans attacked as clashes erupt after anti-immigrant mob descends on Epping asylum hotel
Hundreds of anti-immigrant protesters have gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex just days after two security guards were seriously assaulted in a previous violent protest.
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A section of the road near the Bell Hotel in Epping was closed as hundreds of protesters clashed with police, with some climbing on top of police vans and trying to smash their windows, forcing several vans to drive away from the protest.
Other protesters started setting off fireworks and throwing eggs at the large police presence, which included dozens of riot police officers.
One man has already been arrested at today’s protest on suspicion of affray after reports of an assault near the hotel on Sunday 13 July.
He will be taken to custody while investigations continue, Essex police said.
The crowd gathered for the second time in days after an asylum seeker allegedly housed in the hotel was accused of sexual assault.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
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The offences are alleged to have taken place just eight days after Kebatu arrived in the UK by boat on June 29. The defendant, from Ethiopia and now of Epping, was remanded in custody after a hearing at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Thursday. He denies any wrongdoing.
Thursday’s protest included hundreds of people, including women and children, but a more organised group joined them later bringing loudspeakers and banners reading “protect our kids”.
Others held placards demanding undocumented migrants be deported “to ensure the safety of our women and children”.
A counter-protest organised by Waltham Forest Stand Up To Racism also gathered outside the hotel, as riot police formed a line to separate the groups. Counter-protesters held signs reading: “Refugees Welcome: Stop The Far-Right”.
Police later moved in as far-right protesters surrounded the counter-protest, and masked men began pelting the counter-demonstrators with plastic bottles.
But as the evening progressed and the counter-protest left the area, clashes erupted between angry protesters and police, with footage of damaged police cars and officers being pelted with projectiles.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “Disruption and offending is never an appropriate response, no matter the strength of feeling in this case, and on this issue.
“People protesting peacefully, lawfully and responsibly cause us – and the wider public – no concern.
“However, we can never and will never tolerate criminal behaviour of any sort and anyone identified as committing crime will be dealt with robustly.”
Police had earlier warned that they would not tolerate criminal violence as tensions in the Essex town rose, where far-right groups are accused of trying to take advantage of local opposition to migrants being housed in the hotel.
On Saturday, the district council's Conservative leader Chris Whitbread demanded the Home Office close The Bell Hotel "without delay".
Mr Whitbread previously told The Standard: “From the outset, we warned the Home Office that this site is entirely inappropriate.
“Placing vulnerable individuals from a wide range of cultural backgrounds into an unsupervised setting, in the centre of a small town, without the proper infrastructure, support or services, is both reckless and unacceptable.
“It puts pressure on local services, causes understandable concern for residents, and is unfair on those placed in the hotel.
“The Home Office must now face the reality of the situation. Our warnings have been ignored for too long."
A petition organised by Mr Whitbread calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel, and the Phoenix Hotel in Bobbingworth, has gathered more than 4,500 signatures.
The petition states: “We are also deeply concerned about rising community tensions. Epping Forest has a history of extreme far-right activity, including the presence of groups such as the Homeland Party and previously elected British National Party councillors.
“The Government’s inaction risks fuelling division and undermining community cohesion. Our community feels ignored and let down. Epping Forest has been forced to carry an unfair burden in the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.”