The Court of Appeal overturned an interim injunction that would have forced migrants living at the Bell Hotel in Epping to leave by September 12 in a victory for the Home Office
The Court of Appeal ruling allowing asylum seekers to remain at the Bell Hotel in Epping will be met with relief in Government.
The initial injunction had plunged their asylum hotels plans into turmoil at a moment of heightened tensions over immigration.
In a bombshell ruling, judges on the Court of Appeal on Friday overturned the injunction that would have forced the 138 migrants living at the Bell Hotel to leave by September 12.
But there are plenty of problems ahead for the Government even after its legal victory. Here The Mirror takes a look at what could come next.
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:: What happens to the Bell Hotel?
The 138 asylum seekers living at the hotel in Epping will no longer have to leave by September 12 after the injunction was lifted. But questions remain over its future.
Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) could still be granted an injunction following a full hearing of the legal claim, which is due to be heard in October.
The council said last night(FRI) it was “ruling nothing out”, including taking its bid for a temporary injunction to the Supreme Court.
:: Will there be more legal challenges?
The initial injunction sparked fears of a wave of legal challenges from other councils.
This now looks less likely as the Court of Appeal was pretty definitive in its ruling, saying the High Court judge who granted the initial injunction had “made a number of errors in principle”.
But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch put out a statement encouraging Conservative-run councils to “keep going” in seeking similar injunctions.
:: Will there be more protests?
Tensions remain high over asylum hotels. Police were braced for further protests as locals gathered outside the Bell Hotel on Friday to express anger at the ruling.
EFDC leader Chris Whitbread called for calm following the ruling, saying: “There’s been peaceful protests and there’s been non-peaceful protests outside the hotel.
“You saw that as part of our case, but I just call for residents to be calm.”
Counter-protesters were preparing to mobilise against anti-migrant rallies across the UK over the weekend.
:: What will the Government do?
The Government has pledged to close all asylum hotels by 2029.
But the Home Office admitted it would struggle to house people if the Bell Hotel had been forced to shut.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said asylum seekers could be left “potentially living destitute” – when the Government has a legal duty to keep them off the streets.
The backlog of asylum claims ballooned under the Tories, who started booking out hotels as the number of people in limbo soared.
While numbers have fallen, there are still around 32,000 people are being accommodated in some 210 hotels while their asylum claims are processed.
And more than 28,000 people have come to Britain by small boat since the start of the year.
Ministers are trying to slash the backlog of claims but tensions over asylum hotels mean they must show they are taking action, which could include swapping some hotels for former military barracks or disused warehouses.
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