More migrant woe for Shabana Mahmood as Epping council vows to proceed battle towards Bell Hotel
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is to face further intense pressure over asylum hotels after Epping council voted to continue its legal fight to close the controversial Bell Hotel.
Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) lost a High Court bid to have the property closed to migrants two weeks ago.
But now councillors have agreed to attempt a further challenge in the Court of Appeal.
Ethiopian Hadush Kebatu, 41, was found guilty and jailed for multiple counts of sexual assault before being mistakenly released, re-arrested and finally deported.
It means the case – which could have repercussions for other migrant hotels around the country – is likely to drag on for months.
An EFDC spokesman said: ‘Having heard all the arguments, Epping Forest District Council has voted to proceed to the next stage of the appeals process following a full council debate.
‘The council will continue to take legal advice at each stage of the appeals process and remains committed to the closure of the Bell Hotel.’
EFDC took legal action earlier this year against the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels, claiming that asylum seekers were being housed at the Bell in breach of planning rules.
Epping Forest District Council took legal action against The Bell Hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels, claiming that accommodating asylum seekers there breaches planning rules
Its lawyers said the housing of asylum seekers was a ‘material change of use’ and has caused ‘increasingly regular protests’.
It sought an injunction to have the Bell closed to migrants.
But Ms Mahmood’s Home Office intervened in the legal case, telling the court the council’s bid was ‘misconceived’.
Mr Justice Mould dismissed the council’s claim on November 11 and said in a judgment that it was ‘not a case in which it is just and convenient for this court to grant an injunction’.
Dozens of anti-migration protests have been held at the site over recent months
EFDC initially won an application for an interim injunction to shut the Bell in August, but that ruling was overturned on appeal.
The latest legal steps involve EFDC applying to Mr Justice Mould in the High Court for permission to go to the Court of Appeal.
Dozens of anti-migration protests have been held at the site after a resident, Hadush Kebatu, was arrested for assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman
If refused, the council can then go directly to the Court of Appeal to ask for permission.
Earlier this month the Conservatives said the decision to keep the Bell open was a ‘slap in the face to the people of Epping’.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said at the time: ‘A Labour Government has once again put the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British citizens.
‘This is a dark day for local democracy and a slap in the face to the people of Epping.
‘The people of Epping have been silenced in their own town. Their council fought for them, their voices were ignored.’
Referring to the Home Office’s intervention in the case, he said ‘Labour’s lawyers fought tooth and nail to keep this hotel open’.
The case of the Bell’sformer resident Kebatu has become emblematic of the problems plaguing Britain’s immigration and justice systems.
The 38-year-old was convicted of sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity in September and jailed for a year.
But he was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford just a month into his sentence, sparking a huge manhunt.
After being re-arrested, he threatened to launch a legal challenge against his removal and even said he was considering lodging a new asylum claim with the Home Office.
Kebatu was only deported after being given a ‘discretionary’ payment of £500 by the Home Office in return for going quietly.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to empty asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament in 2029.
One way he hopes to reduce the use of hotels is by opening up accommodation in military bases.
Two new centres – in Crowborough, East Sussex, and Inverness – have already been announced with at least six further sites currently being considered by ministers.
