UK police arrest 6 after protesters descend on a hotel housing asylum
seekers
[July 21, 2025]
By DANICA KIRKA
LONDON (AP) — A town on the outskirts of London was rocked by protesters
who descended on a hotel housing asylum seekers for the second time in
four days on Sunday night, amid anger about a migrant accused of sexual
assault.
Police in the town of Epping said they arrested six people on Sunday,
including four suspected of involvement in “violent disorder” during the
previous demonstration on Thursday. Officers patrolled the area around
the Bell Hotel throughout the night after issuing an order for the
crowds to disperse.
Chanting “Save our kids” and “Send them home,” more than 100
demonstrators, some brandishing British flags, gathered outside the
hotel Sunday evening. The protests escalated as night fell, with flares
and projectiles thrown toward police vans blocking the entrance. Police
escorted a counter-protester from the area after demonstrators
surrounded her.
“Disappointingly we have seen yet another protest, which begun
peacefully, escalate into mindless thuggery with individuals again
hurting one of our officers and damaging a police vehicle,″ Chief
Superintendent Simon Anslow of the Essex Police said in a statement.
“For anyone who thinks we will tolerate their thuggery — think again.’‘
The protests come amid escalating tensions over the rising number of
asylum seekers who are being housed at government expense in hotels
around the country. Those pressures flared into days of rioting last
month in Northern Ireland after two teenagers were arrested on charges
of sexual assault.
Violent anti-immigrant protests spread throughout the U.K. last summer
after social media users spread misinformation about the identity of the
person who attacked a dance class in the northwestern town of Southport,
killing three young girls. The attacker was a 17-year-old who was born
in the U.K. born in the U.K. to parents from Rwanda, not an asylum
seeker as had been rumored.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned last year’s riots as “far-right
thuggery” as police intervened to stop the violence and expedited the
sentencing of those convicted of taking part.
Before Sunday’s protests in Epping, local police issued an order that
allowed them to force demonstrators to remove face coverings. The later
issued an order for the demonstrators to leave the area around the
hotel. That dispersal order remained in effect until 4 a.m. Monday.
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Police officers stand near protesters on Hemnall Street in the town
of Epping, after a protest outside the Bell Hotel in Epping,
northeast of London, Sunday, July 20, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
The demonstration came after eight police officers were injured on
Thursday after a peaceful protest outside the hotel escalated into
violence. Police blamed the violence on people from outside the
community who “arrived at the scene intent on causing trouble.”
Four of those detained on Sunday were arrested in connection with events
that happened during the initial protest, police said. A fifth was
arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a police car, while
the sixth was arrested for being equipped to cause criminal damage.
The protests began after a 38-year-old asylum seeker was charged with
sexual assault after allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
The man is being held without bail after he had his first court
appearance on July 10. He denies the charges.
“We don’t take sides, we arrest criminals and we have a duty to ensure
no-one is hurt — plain and simple,″ Anslow said. “I know the people of
Essex know what we’re about so I know they won’t believe the rubbish
circulating online that is designed to do nothing more than inflame
tensions and trouble.’’
Epping Forest District Council, which provides local government services
in the area, condemned the violence but said it had long opposed the
central government’s decision to use the Bell Hotel to house asylum
seekers.
“We have consistently shared concerns with the Home Office that the Bell
Hotel is an entirely unsuitable location for this facility and should
close,” council Leader Chris Whitbread said in a statement last week.
“We continue to press Home Office officials for the immediate closure of
the site and are encouraged that our local MPs are now actively
supporting our call.”
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