Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the onus will be on Labour to “solve the problem” should Tory councils launch successful legal challenges against asylum hotels.
She was asked by GB News host Alex Armstrong whether urging Tory-led councils to press ahead with legal challenges is a wise move.
Alex told Mrs Badenoch that there is a good chance migrants evicted from asylum hotels will likely be moved into HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation), which could present areas with an even bigger problem.
He said: “You have written to Conservative councils up and down the country asking them to launch legal challenges in their areas.
Kemi Badenoch said 'it's not my fault' Labour is struggling to come up with answers
|GB NEWS / PA
“We know what happens once these hotels close. They’re going to be moved into HMOs. Do you think you’ll be making things worse for people up and down the country? At the end of the day, at least where there is hotels and security, people know where they are.
“By forcing them into the hotel situation and forcing the Government’s hand, surely you’re only making matters worse?”
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Mrs Badenoch said HMOs are not a desirable solution and other options should be pursued as she challenged Labour to come up with those alternatives.
"I have been very clear. HMOs are not a solution. There are other things that can be done", she explained.
Kemi Badenoch told Alex Armstrong that she has already put forward suggestions for what to do with evicted migrants
|GB NEWS
“I have been very clear, the Government needs to start thinking about setting up separate facilities. It is not fair and it is not right for local communities to have to be the ones paying the price and bearing the brunt.”
Alex hit back by bluntly telling her “the Government are not going to do that”.
The Tory leader responded: “The Government needs to solve the problem.”
The GB News star then interjected, saying Mrs Badenoch is going to “force the Government’s hand” and migrants will increasingly end up living in HMOs.
“I am very happy to force the Government’s hand to make sure communities do not have to pay the price of having so many people, including the criminal element, in their area”, she said.
Epping Council leader speaks to Mark White after landmark High Court ruling - WATCH
“I sat down and spoke with the mothers and fathers of Epping who told me they were scared to go out because they were scared of people living in bushes.
“It is not my fault, as the Leader of the Opposition, to help those people and then you blame me for forcing the Government’s hand.
“The Government needs to get a grip.”
The High Court ruled last week that asylum hotels should be removed from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after the local Conservative council launched a legal challenge.
There have been multiple anti-migrant protests seen in the UK | PAThe Bell Hotel in Epping had been used as asylum accommodation briefly in 2020 and then between 2022 and 2024 under the previous Conservative Government.
An asylum seeker living in the Epping hotel was then alleged to have committed two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
The defendant denies all the claims but the alleged incident, which is said to have happened in July, sparked waves of anti-asylum hotel protests in Epping and across the country.
The Essex protests culminated in the local Tory council successfully securing a temporary injunction from the High Court last week which blocks the use of the town’s Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers on planning grounds.
The decision has put the Home Office in a sticky spot given its legal duty to house destitute asylum seekers while their claims are being handled.
Mrs Badenoch is keen to ramp up the pressure by urging other Tory-led councils to follow Epping Council’s lead.
In her letter, Mrs Badenoch told Tory councils she would “back you to take similar action to protect your community”.
Labour has been critical of her response, with a spokesperson branding her letter a “pathetic stunt” and “desperate and hypocritical nonsense from the architects of the broken asylum system”.