Home Office bid to keep hotel for migrants ‘a joke’

FURY has erupted over Labour’s 11th-hour bid to keep a controversial migrant hotel open.

- By Michael Knowles

The Home Secretary confirmed the UK Government wants to appeal the temporary injunction ordering the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, to close.

Yvette Cooper defended the move, insisting hotels must be closed in a “properly managed way” rather than through “piecemeal court decisions”.

Somani Hotels, the owner of the Bell Hotel in Epping, also confirmed they will appeal against the closure order, paving the way for a showdown with the local community.

But the government’s intervention provoked anger from the opposition, with ministers accused of ignoring public anger, safety concerns and demands for rapid closures.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This decision is a sick joke. It is completely wrong that the Labour government is taking legal action to keep the Bell Hotel open.

“The government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts.

“In the nine months before the election, the Conservatives closed 200 hotels. if that had continued, there wouldn’t be any asylum hotels now.

“This problem is being caused because 2025 so far is the worst year ever for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel.”

Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: “The government’s position is completely untenable. Labour pledged to end the use of asylum hotels.

“This is them brazenly breaking that promise.”