Three people arrested as protesters descend on Epping after court blocks closure of migrant hotel
Three people were arrested and two police officers were injured in Epping on Friday night after the latest protest over the use of asylum hotels.
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People had gathered to demonstrate in the Essex town - and in Cheshunt in Hertfordshire - following the announcement on Friday that the government had won its bid to block the closure of the Bell Hotel at the centre of a wave of protests.
One person was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, a second man on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and a third man on suspicion of drink driving after a car was driven on the wrong side of the road towards a police cordon.
All three remain in custody.
Read more: Epping asylum hotel timeline as government secures court victory
Assistant chief constable Glen Pavelin said: "Protest is a democratic right, and we’ll always do all we can to facilitate that, for every group seeking to make their voice heard.
"The overwhelming majority of people in Epping tonight clearly wanted their voices to be heard and they did that safely and without the need for a police response.
"However, the right to protest does not include a right to commit crime and tonight a small number of people were arrested. Two officers sustained injuries which are thankfully not serious.
"Officers will remain in the area in the coming hours to ensure the dispersal order which remains in place is adhered to."
Read more: Chaos returns to Epping as protesters clash with police outside asylum hotel
Epping Forest District Council had been granted an interim injunction by the High Court, stopping the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels, from using the hotel to accommodate asylum seekers beyond September 12.
The Home Office and Somani Hotels had been seeking to challenge this with a decision in a bid to avoid similar legal challenges across the country.
And following today's ruling, asylum seekers will now be allowed to stay in Epping's Bell Hotel beyond the previously given September 12 deadline.
Essex Police used additional powers to request that anyone assembling outside the hotel to leave the area by 9.30pm on Friday - they have said that this was adhered to.
A second order was put in place with regard to a small crowd on the Epping side of High Road, which said they needed to leave the area by 10pm - this was also followed.
A dispersal order is in place until 6am on Saturday August 30.
This means anyone who is suspected of committing, or being intent on committing, anti-social behaviour can be asked to leave the area by officers. If they do not, they face being arrested.
ACC Pavelin added: “The strength of feeling in Epping throughout the summer is not lost on me. My continued plea to those people who want their voices to be heard is to please do that safely and peacefully.”