Protesters have again gathered outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, following Elon Musk’s blast about the Home Office, branding them as “a government against its people”
Anti-immigration demonstrators – some wearing hoods, others with face coverings and carrying English flags – continued to protest outside an asylum hotel on Thursday night.
The Home Office had argued the rights of migrants trump those of local residents and, on Friday, three senior judges will rule on whether to overturn a temporary injunction, which is set to block asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
Elon Musk, who hours previous had reignited his feud with Nigel Farage, waded into the row, branding lawyers representing the Home Office as “a government against its people”. Furious rotesters echoed Mr Musk’s thoughts on Thursday night, blocking the road outside the hotel, and chanting “send them back” and “go home”.
Flares were let off in scenes which one protesters admitted threatened to turn ugly. They said: “It’s all kicking off… We are so angry. We won’t stop.” Police were also present at the scene, it is understood.
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Desperate asylum seekers in one hotel in Oxford this week told reporters they hope to be part of British society, and get jobs as police officers or at zoos. They said they are “living in fear” following repeated protests.
But residents in Essex said they are concerned for the community. Lindsey Thompson, 58, told The Telegraph she is worried about children returning to school next wek following the summer holidays.
“It’s so scary. They are not protected. The school warned parents in summer that children need to be careful. We really are so worried,” Lindsey continued.
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But earlier on Thursday, Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, argued the hotel is part of “critical national infrastructure” and that providing accommodation to asylum seekers is in the “national interest”. He told the Court of Appeal: “There is a national interest in ensuring vulnerable individuals, namely asylum seekers, are accommodated.”
The latest Home Office data, published last week as part of the usual quarterly immigration statistics, shows there were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of June. This was up from 29,585 at the same point a year earlier.
However, lawyers for the Home Secretary also warned the ruling could prompt further anti-immigration protests. In written submissions they suggested it “runs the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests”.
Mr Brown KC said the judge “erred” in ruling the case was simply one of a planning dispute and asked for the Court of Appeal to discharge the interim injunction previously made in the Bell Hotel case.