Home Office fights back as Labour launches legal appeal to overturn landmark Epping migrant hotel ruling

The successful injunction meant that the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels Limited, had to stop housing asylum seekers there within 14 days of the ruling.

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The ruling followed several protests from concerned locals outside the building.

The Home Office's previous bid was dismissed by Mr Justice Eyre, who said the department’s involvement was "not necessary".

They are now applying for permission from the Court of Appeal to challenge the High Court's decision to be an interested party in the case.

This would mean their previously dismissed argument would be heard in court and taken into consideration, potentially changing the outcome of the case.

The Government is then expected to consider a further appeal against the ruling itself, if successful.

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Mr Jarvis said the Government was committed to closing all asylum hotels by 2029, but added "we need to do that in a managed and ordered way, and that's why we'll appeal this decision".

The Security Minister told broadcasters: "We’ve made a very clear commitment that we’re going to close all of the asylum hotels.

"That was a manifesto commitment that we stood on and we will honour.

"We’re clearing up the legacy that we inherited from the previous Government but the closures of these hotels need to be done in an ordered and managed way."

In a separate appeal, Somani Hotels, the owner of the Bell Hotel in Epping, will now appeal against a court order blocking the use of the hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers, the company’s solicitors have said.

The council had argued the injunction was needed amid "unprecedented levels of protest and disruption" in connection with asylum seeker accommodation.

The time limit for when the hotel must stop housing the asylum seekers is September 12.

It is understood that Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK councils across Britain have already begun investigating whether they are able to pursue legal challenges against asylum hotels, using Epping as a legal precedent.

Several protests and counter-protests have been held in Essex since Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was charged with allegedly trying to kiss a teenage girl, a charge which he denies, ahead of his trial later this month.

Latest figures showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels, marking a rise of 8 per cent during Labour’s first year in office.

A further wave of protests outside hotels used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers is expected over the weekend in several towns and cities across Britain.

A large police presence is expected to separate demonstrators and counter-protesters.

As part of the party's pledge to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has insisted Labour had taken "crucial steps” in the past year by cutting the asylum backlog and money spent on the asylum system, increasing returns of failed asylum seekers and overhauling appeals.

While the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has risen, Government spending on asylum in the UK is down 12 per cent, data published on Thursday showed.

The leader of Epping Forest District Council, Chris Whitbread, said the situation "cannot go on" but the Government "is not listening".

Mr Whitbread said after the ruling that he was "delighted", adding: "This is great news for our residents.

"The last few weeks have placed an intolerable strain on our community, but today we have some great news."

Mr Whitbread said the Home Office policy ignored "the issues and concerns of local residents that the council represents".

He said: "Today we have made a step towards redressing the imbalance and showing that local people do have some say, whatever the Home Office thinks."

Following confirmation of the Home Office’s intention to appeal the interim judgment, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:" This Government inherited an asylum system in chaos, with decision-making at a standstill, the backlog soaring, and tens of thousands of asylum seekers staying in expensive asylum hotels with no prospect of their case being resolved.

"As set out in our manifesto, this Government will end asylum hotels and bring the number of people in the asylum accommodation system right back down. We have already taken immediate action to start fixing the broken system we inherited, doubling the rate of asylum decision-making, increasing the removal of failed asylum-seekers by almost 30 per cent, and taking action to prevent overseas workers and students claiming UK asylum when their visas expire.

"The number of asylum hotels is now around half what it was at its peak under the previous government, when more than 400 hotels were in use at a cost of almost £9 million per day. Over the course of 2024/25, we reduced the cost of asylum hotels by almost a billion pounds compared to the previous financial year. But we have committed to go much further to reduce those costs, and to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.

"In recent months, we have set out plans to deliver that commitment, including reducing the number of people entering the system, increasing and speeding up the returns of failed asylum-seekers, overhauling the broken appeals system we inherited so that failed asylum seekers do not stay in the system for years, and putting in place more appropriate accommodation for those who genuinely need it."

"We agree with communities across the country that all asylum hotels need to close, including the Bell Hotel, and we are working to do so as swiftly as possible 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 without creating problems for other areas and local councils.

"What we cannot have is a replica of the chaotic and disorderly situation that we saw under the previous government in 2022, when 140 extra hotels were opened in the space of six months because they lost control of the system. The previous government which caused that chaos is now trying to pretend that their time in office didn’t happen, and are simply trying to make the situation worse.

"While they play politics with this issue, we will get on with the job of sorting out the mess that they left behind, closing every one of the hotels that they opened, and doing so in a controlled and managed way."

After the Government's decision to appeal against the closure of the Bell Hotel, Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, said: "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.

"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.

"In the nine months before the election Conservatives closed 200 hotels. If that had continued there wouldn’t be any asylum hotels now - but instead the number of asylum seekers in hotels have gone up since the election under Labour.

"This problem is being caused because 2025 so far is the worst year ever for illegal immigrants crossing the channel. Most are young men who have paid people smugglers to illegally enter the UK. Labour has lost control of our borders and communities up and down the country are paying the price."