Political reporter
The government is seeking the right to appeal against a High Court ruling which blocks asylum seekers being housed in an Essex hotel.
Earlier this week, Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to stop people being placed at the Bell Hotel in Epping.
The court refused a last-minute effort from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to intervene and get the council’s case dismissed.
If successful in its new bid to be involved, the government is then expected to consider a further appeal against the ruling itself.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government was committed to closing all asylum hotels, but said it needed to happen in “a properly managed way”.
She said the government were working to do it “as part of an orderly, planned and sustained programme that avoids simply creating problems for other areas or local councils as a result of piecemeal court decisions or a return to the kind of chaos which led to so many hotels being opened in the first place”.
“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 right across the country.”
A senior Home Office source said it was a matter of “democracy” and that the judiciary should not be able to tell the government where it can and can’t place asylum seekers.
In addition, Somani Hotels, the owner of the Bell Hotel, will appeal against the court order blocking the use of the hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers, the company’s solicitors said.
Chris Whitbread, leader of Epping council, has previously said he would “find the money” to fight an appeal, if the government chose to bring one.
One asylum seeker living at the hotel has told the BBC the government should close the hotels and let asylum seekers work so they can support themselves.
In recent weeks, thousands of people have gathered near the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex to protest after an asylum seeker living there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the town.
Bringing its case, Epping Council argued that the presence of the hotel “poses a clear risk of further escalating community tensions already at a high, and the risk of irreparable harm to the local community”.
Before the judgement was handed down, the Home Office asked to intervene in the case, warning that the court’s decision could “substantially impact” its ability to house asylum seekers in hotels across the UK.
The court ruled in favour of Epping Council and said the 140 asylum seekers would have to leave the hotel by 16:00 BST on 12 September.
Since the ruling, more than half a dozen councils have said they were considering taking similar legal action.
Protests and counter-protests are expected to take place outside hotels across the country over the coming days.
The government is legally-bound to find homes for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while they wait for a decision to be made on their asylum claim.
Rising numbers of asylum seekers coming to the UK has led to a greater use of hotels for accommodation.
Figures released by the government on Thursday revealed that the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels had reached 32,059 – an 8% increase in the year since Labour came to power but down on the 2023 peak.
The number of asylum applications in the year to June reached a new record of 111,000.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Home Office’s decision to seek to appeal against the closure of the Bell Hotel was “completely wrong”.
“Instead of trying to keep illegal immigrants in expensive hotels the Conservatives would immediately deport all illegal arrivals and ensure towns like Epping are never put in this position again.”
