Sir Keir Starmer’s government will appeal against a High Court ruling that threatens to unravel Labour’s asylum policy, as councils across the country prepare copycat legal challenges against migrant hotels.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis confirmed on Friday that the Home Office will challenge the court’s refusal to intervene in the case of the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, where a temporary injunction has blocked asylum seekers from being housed. The landmark ruling has emboldened councils nationwide, including Labour-run authorities, to consider similar legal action.
The High Court granted Epping Forest District Council an injunction on Tuesday requiring all 138 asylum seekers to vacate the Bell Hotel by 12 September, following weeks of protests after an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Government Scrambles to Maintain Control
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper insisted the closure of asylum hotels must be done in an “orderly, planned and sustained programme” rather than through “piecemeal court decisions.” She warned the ruling risked creating chaos and problems for other areas and councils.
“We agree with communities across the country that all asylum hotels need to close, including the Bell Hotel,” Ms Cooper said in a statement. That is the reason for the Home Office appeal in this case, to ensure that going forward, the closure of all hotels can be done in a properly managed way.
The government’s appeal comes as it faces mounting pressure to fulfil Labour’s manifesto pledge to end the use of all asylum hotels by 2029. Latest figures show 32,345 asylum seekers were housed in hotels at the end of March, marking an 8 per cent rise during Labour’s first year in office.
Cross-Party Council Revolt Brewing
The Epping ruling has triggered what could become a nationwide revolt, with at least 30 local authorities considering their legal options. Crucially, this includes nine Labour-run councils, significantly increasing pressure on Sir Keir’s government.
Wirral and Tamworth councils, both controlled by Labour, have announced they are examining whether to pursue similar legal challenges. Carol Dean, leader of Tamworth Council, said her authority was “carefully assessing” what she called a “potentially important legal precedent.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has written to all Tory councils pledging support for legal action, accusing Labour of “trying to ram through such asylum hotels without consultation” and treating “local residents and local councils with contempt.
Protests Expected Across Bank Holiday Weekend
A fresh wave of demonstrations outside asylum hotels is expected over the three-day Bank Holiday weekend, with anti-racism groups preparing counter-protests in at least 15 locations including Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Leicester, Leeds, and Aberdeen.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has seized on the Epping case as a rallying cry, urging supporters to “hold peaceful protests outside hotels and put pressure on councils to go to court to try to get illegal immigrants out.
Stand Up To Racism warned the ruling sets a “dangerous precedent” that will “embolden the far-Right to call more protests outside hotels housing refugees.”
Bell Hotel at Centre of Storm
The Bell Hotel became a flashpoint after Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 41, an Ethiopian asylum seeker staying there, was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl. He denies the charges and is due to stand trial later this year.
Epping Forest District Council successfully argued that Somani Hotels, the Bell Hotel’s owners, had breached planning regulations by not notifying the local authority about the change of use from a hotel to asylum accommodation.
Holly Whitbread, the council’s finance chief, described the government’s appeal as “deeply disappointing,” adding: “They’ve completely ignored community concerns. They seem to have no care for the impact this hotel is having on our community.”
Legal Battle Intensifies
Mr Justice Eyre had dismissed the Home Office’s attempt to intervene in the original case, saying the department’s involvement was “not necessary.” The government must now seek permission from the Court of Appeal to challenge this decision.
Barristers for the Home Office had warned of “substantial impact” on the Home Secretary’s ability to perform legal duties to asylum seekers and cited “particular acute difficulties” in moving people at short notice.
Somani Hotels also announced on Friday they would appeal against the injunction, with their legal representatives stating they had “instructed solicitors to appeal the injunction order of Mr Justice Eyre.”
Opposition Attacks Mount
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp condemned the government’s legal action, saying: “It is completely wrong that the Labour Government is taking legal action to keep open the Bell Hotel. The Government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts.
He added that 2025 was “the worst year ever for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel” and accused Labour of losing “control of our borders.”
The crisis comes as new data reveals 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June – the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Contingency Plans Sought
Ministers are scrambling to find alternatives to hotels, with officials reportedly examining houses in multiple occupation, empty tower blocks, disused teacher training colleges, and old student accommodation.
Asylum accommodation contractors working for the Home Office have contacted property specialists seeking 5,000 residential units in towns and cities to house migrants, according to reports.
The government maintains it has already halved the number of asylum hotels from over 400 at its peak under the Conservatives, when they cost almost £9 million per day.
However, with councils across the political spectrum now mobilising legal challenges and protests intensifying, Sir Keir’s pledge to end asylum hotels by 2029 faces its most serious test yet.
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Image Credit (Shortened):
Keir Starmer gives a press statement after announcing the Southport terror inquiry (21 Jan 2025, Downing Street) – by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, licensed under OGL v3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
