Home Office bid to keep hotel for migrants open 'a sick joke'

FURY erupted yesterday over Labour’s 11th-hour bid to keep the Epping migrant hotel open despite a High Court closure order.

- By Michael Knowles

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government wants to appeal the temporary injunction ordering the Bell Hotel to close.

She said such hotels must be closed in a “properly managed way”, not through “piecemeal court decisions”.

Somani Hotels, which owns the Bell, is also appealing the closure order — paving the way for a showdown with locals.

Nearly 30 protests are expected this weekend at hotels housing asylum seekers across the country from Aberdeen to Exeter, including the Bell in Epping, Essex,

Opposition parties accused ministers of ignoring public anger, safety fears and demands for rapid closures.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the move a “sick joke”. He said: “The Government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts. Labour has lost control of our borders and communities are paying the price.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said on X: “Ask yourself a question. Whose side is this Government on?

“Is it on your side or is it on the side of young, undocumented males coming into Britain, too many of whom...assault our young women?”