A Home Office victory - but it won't bring much relief

Protesters were already gathering outside the Bell hotel yesterday evening with union jacks and St George's flags waving.

- Aletha Adu

This court ruling was never going to end as a quiet legal moment.

For the Home Office, the court of appeal's decision was a practical win. If it had gone the other way, the government would have been forced to rehouse 138 asylum seekers in a matter of days, opening the floodgates to similar legal challenges from other councils. As there is scant alternative accommodation available, this ruling buys the government time.

Government insiders have told the Guardian that by the end of the year they expect at least five more hotels housing asylum seekers to close, with more to follow. If the closures proceed, the ruling means the government still has time to deliver the promise of shutting all the hotels "in a controlled and orderly way" by 2029.