Migrants must be removed from an asylum hotel in Epping because "large-scale protests are disrupting local life", Essex's Police & Crime Commissioner has said.
Writing to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Roger Hirst described the use of the hotel in Epping as “unsuitable” for housing migrants and warned that the presence of asylum seekers was “clearly creating community tension”.
Hirst's letter comes as Essex Police prepares for another night of disorder in the leafy corner of the country.
The force had already confirmed that 16 arrests have been made in connection with the disorder near the hotel.
In his letter, Hirst said: “[I am] requesting a meeting to discuss the ongoing use of hotels in the Epping Forest district of Essex, and elsewhere in the county, to accommodate newly-arrived asylum seekers.
“Specifically, I am seeking to highlight the unsuitability of the hotel in Epping for this purpose, and request that its use be reviewed.
"The presence of asylum seeker accommodation in this district is clearly creating community tension.
"These large-scale protests are disrupting local life and placing an unwelcome burden on Essex Police resources."
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|Epping has been hit by a wave of protests over the migrant hotel
There had been speculation that migrants were set to relocate from Epping to Canary Wharf.
However, GB News understands that the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf has been taken over in case of any need for an "overflow hotel" for migrants at Manston Airport.
In an update earlier this week, the Home Office confirmed that no asylum seekers have been removed from the hotel in Epping.
The protests in Epping were triggered by reports that an asylum seeker in the hotel had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in the area.
GETTY | Police at the scene of the unrest in EppingHadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a 38-year-old asylum seeker from Ethiopia, denies the three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
Essex Police also came under fire after video footage appeared to show officers escorting counter-demonstrators to the hotel, prompting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to demand Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington steps down.
After Harrington claimed it was wrong for Farage to claim that police had "bussed" counter-demonstrators to the hotel, the Reform UK leader apologised for the inaccuracy.
Swiping at Essex Police, Farage added: "From what I can see of it, these counter-protesters, Antifa among them, some with masks on, were given the red carpet to and from the hotel."
PA | Protesters gather in Epping outside a migrant hotel
Hirst's intervention also comes as Epping Forest District Council voted unanimously to urge the Home Office to close the hotel.
At a fiery public meeting on Thursday, Conservative Council leader Chris Whitbread said: "I am concerned that our residents' peaceful protests are being infiltrated on the extremes of politics."
Whitbread added: "I'm worried that Epping will become a focus and a battleground for the agendas of those extremist groups and they will continue to stoke tensions as part of their wider campaigns."
During the meeting, protesters wearing England flags and Union Jacks draped over their backs stood behind fencing erected outside the hotel.
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| The police have imposed a dispersal order for Epping from Thursday at 2pm until Friday at 8amDuring the meeting, Conservative councillor Holly Whitbread also spoke critically of councillors who had encouraged or taken part in protests.
Reform UK's Jaymey McIvor responded by saying it was a "great shame" that more councillors had not visited the protests.
He added: "The people of Epping are worried, they're scared. And what they want in that scenario is to be listened to."
Meanwhile, Epping Town Mayor Janet Whitehouse provided support and sympathy for asylum seekers.
She said: "We don't know the situation of the people placed there.
"It's very sad that the picture of Epping being seen nationally and internationally is one of violence."