Sir Keir Starmer does not support the “clearly unacceptable” violence directed towards police outside a migrant hotel in Epping, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman has said.
The intervention from No10 comes just hours after six people were arrested in the second wave of protests outside the asylum hotel in leafy Essex yesterday.
Riot police had been pelted with projectiles outside the accommodation before the area was cleared using a dispersal order.
Eight police officers had already been injured in Thursday night’s clashes, with Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper labelling demonstrators as “mindless thugs”.
Responding to last night’s protests, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but it’s clearly unacceptable to see police coming under attack as they ensure that peaceful protest is able to take place.
“Essex Police put out the statement making very clear: people who protest peacefully, lawfully and responsibly cause us and the wider public no concern.
“However, we can never and will never tolerate criminal violence, and I think the Prime Minister will obviously echo that.”
Police had claimed that protesters set off flares in blue and red, while holding signs which read “deport foreign criminals”, “we go home when they go back” and “defend our girls”.
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GETTY | Sir Keir Starmer
Bottles and smoke flares were later thrown towards police vans blocking the entrance to the hotel on the High Road.
The demonstrations come after 38-year-old asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was charged with sexual assault.
Kebatu, who was staying at the Epping asylum hotel, is accused of attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl just days after entering the UK via a small boat.
He denied the charge when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
PA | Police officers and protesters on Hemnall Street in EppingPolice closed Epping High Road for several hours due to the presence of protesters.
Essex Police later issued a Section 60AA order which banned people wearing face coverings and balaclavas until 4am on Monday morning.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “Disappointingly we have seen yet another protest, which begun peacefully, escalate into mindless thuggery with individuals again hurting one of our officers and damaging a police vehicle. For anyone who thinks we will tolerate their thuggery – think again.
“Individuals who thought that after last Thursday, turned up this evening only to find themselves getting arrested and we have continued to arrest others throughout the evening.
“I would also like to set the record straight around misinformation that Essex Police is anything other than impartial. We don’t take sides, we arrest criminals and we have a duty to ensure no-one is hurt – plain and simple.
“I know the people of Essex know what we’re about so I know they won’t believe the rubbish circulating online that is designed to do nothing more than inflame tensions and trouble.
PA | Protesters meeting outside the Epping hotel"I think I speak for all of us – including the people of Epping – when I say we’ve had enough of your criminality. But our cells, which have been filling up throughout the evening, are ready for you, so don’t be in any doubt that this is where you will be sleeping.”
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage blamed “bad eggs” for acts of violence outside the Epping migrant hotel.
Farage branded some of the protesters “far right thugs” but said most were “genuinely concerned families”.
He also cited “Antifa” members as a source of crime.
“I don’t think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale in this country,” Farage said earlier today.
X | Police gather outside the Epping migrant hotel last night“Of course, there were some bad eggs that turned up at Epping.
“There were the usual far right thugs, but equally, what about Antifa? Why are Antifa allowed to go to these demonstrations, to wear balaclavas, to not be identified, to do gestures of them shooting at members of the public...
“So, you know, it isn’t all far right thuggery, as you might sometimes hear from our Prime Minister.
“But do I understand how people in Epping feel? You bet your life I do.”
Essex Police remain on standby ahead of further demonstrations later this week, with ex-English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson vowing to bring thousands of demonstrators to the leafy corner of Essex on Sunday.