Highlights:
- Court of Appeal has overturned injunction blocking use of Epping hotel for asylum seekers.
- Judges say human rights obligations outweigh local safety concerns.
- At least 13 councils preparing legal action despite ruling.
- Protests outside the Bell Hotel lead to arrests and police injuries.
MORE than a dozen councils are moving ahead with legal challenges against the use of hotels for asylum seekers despite the Home Office winning an appeal in the Court of Appeal.
On Friday, the court overturned a High Court injunction that had blocked 138 migrants from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping.
Judges ruled that meeting the human rights of asylum seekers by providing accommodation outweighed local safety concerns.
The injunction was secured by Epping Forest District Council after protests following the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl by an Ethiopian asylum seeker.
The man has been charged and denies wrongdoing. A full hearing on the planning dispute over the Bell Hotel will take place in October.
At least 13 councils are preparing similar legal action, The Times reported, including Labour-run Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor. Epping Forest Council said it may appeal to the Supreme Court.
Asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said the government remained committed to ending hotel use by 2029 and argued the appeal was needed to move migrants “in a controlled and orderly way”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the government for prioritising “the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people” and urged councils to continue legal action.
Reform leader Nigel Farage said the government had used the European Convention on Human Rights “against the people of Epping”.
Councils including Broxbourne and Spelthorne confirmed they were pressing ahead with enforcement action on planning grounds.
Protests outside the Bell Hotel on Friday led to the arrest of three men, while two police officers sustained minor injuries.
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