People expose first big crack in rotten asylum system

THE HIGH Court's ruling against The Bell Hotel in Epping is more than a local skirmish. It is the first crack in the rotten edifice of Britain's asylum system and a warning shot to the Government that people have had enough.

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Someone, somewhere in Westminster, knew all along that using hotels as de facto hostels for asylum seekers was a breach of planning law, and yet it was foisted on communities regardless. Now the courts have confirmed what residents have been screaming for months: this was never lawful.

And let's be clear: The Bell Hotel is not some isolated case. Dozens of hotels up and down the country have cashed in on this racket. Once venues for weddings, conferences and Sunday roasts, they now pocket taxpayer cash while ordinary families watch their communities change overnight.

The Epping case, however, has cut through because of its sheer brazenness. A hotel earmarked for closure to asylum seekers in 2024 was, miraculously, resurrected once Labour came to power. When residents protested, overwhelmingly peacefully (though inevitably with a few ugly incidents at the margins), they were told to sit down and shut up. Instead, they kept going. And now, they've won. The reaction of the Home Office is beyond parody.

IN COURT, it argued that closing The Bell would "substantially interfere" with its statutory duty to house asylum seekers. It cited Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as though relocating a few dozen people were tantamount to torture.