Kemi Badenoch has called on Conservative council leaders “encouraging” them to follow Epping Forest District Council’s footsteps by launching bids to shut asylum hotels.
The Tory leader said council chiefs should launch a legal challenge if their "legal advice supports it."
Epping Forest District Council in Essex, which is Conservative run, secured a High Court temporary injunction this week, blocking the use of a local hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers on planning grounds.
The Conservative leader told her party’s town hall leaders that whether or not to block a hotel from housing asylum seekers “will depend on individual circumstances of the case."
She continued: "But it is the Labour Government which is trying to ram through such asylum hotels without consultation and without proper process."
A Labour spokesman hit back, calling her letter a "pathetic stunt" and "desperate and hypocritical nonsense from the architects of the broken asylum system."
Conservative leader of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, told Richard Biggs said: "We are studying the judgment with our lawyers to understand it and if a similar action would work for us.
"We have had some impact and we had a protest outside our hotel in August which was local people having a peaceful protest to express their concerns."
He added that "wider infrastructure has to be considered when determining planning."
Leaders at Labour-led authorities in Tamworth and Wirral have said they are considering the High Court’s decision in relation to hotels in their areas.
Reform UK leaders in Staffordshire and West Northamptonshire are also considering further action.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
'Scrap the OBR!' Rachel Reeves implored to tear up fiscal rulebook as economy trapped in 'doom loop'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is being urged to "scrap the OBR" to save the UK economy from a "never-ending doom loop of debt and austerity" for years to come.
Created by former Chancellor George Osbourne in 2010, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) acts an independent watchdog, providing fiscal forecasts.
Critics of the body claim it has left consecutive Governments "shackled" between raising taxes and cutting spending to meet strict fiscal rules, contributing to austerity.
READ IN FULL: Kemi Badenoch's letter to Conservative council leaders
Kemi Badenoch's letter to council leaders
|KEMI BADENOCH
SNP accused of creating 'national scandal' over crumbling NHS buildings
First Minister John Swinney's Government was accused of 'national scandal'
| PAThe SNP Government in Holyrood has been accused of a “national scandal” after it was revealed that hundreds of NHS buildings are more than 70 years old.
A freedom of information request submitted by the Scottish Liberal Democrats to all of Scotland’s health boards found the NHS still relies on 597 buildings that were built seven decades ago.
The findings show 121 of the buildings are located in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area, where there are also 210 buildings up to 50 years old.
In NHS Lothian, 104 buildings are more than 70 years old, as are 97 in NHS Grampian and 93 in NHS Tayside.
Scottish Lib Dem leader leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "These figures show that the Scottish NHS is still relying on hundreds of buildings which are almost as old as the health service itself.
"While there will be many old buildings which have undergone the appropriate modernisation, the scale of the NHS’s maintenance backlog suggests that many of them have not kept pace with where health boards would like them to be.
“It is a national scandal that millions across the country are being treated in old and crumbling buildings that are no longer fit for purpose."
READ IN FULL: Yvette Cooper's response to today's asylum seeker figures
In a statement shared with GB News, the Home Secretary said: "We inherited a broken immigration and asylum system that the previous Government left in chaos.
"Since coming to office we have strengthened Britain’s visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns, as today’s figures show.
"The action we have taken in the last 12 months, increasing returns of failed asylum seekers by over 30 per cent, cutting asylum costs by 11 per cent, reducing the backlog by 18 per cent and our forthcoming plans to overhaul the failing asylum appeal system, are crucial steps to restoring order, and putting an end to the chaotic use of asylum hotels that we inherited from the previous government.
"At the same time, we are bringing legal migration back under control, with a 48 per cent reduction in work visas this year, and further stronger visa controls and higher skill requirements introduced through our White Paper expected to bring those overall numbers down further.
"As we roll out further reforms, including the new pilot with France, new counter terror powers to strengthen border security, and new asylum reforms later this year (including reforms to speed up the persistent delays in the appeals system), we will continue to take the serious steps required to restore order, control and fairness to the system and to continue building the foundations of a new and stronger approach."
Nigel Farage says public 'right to be very angry' with Labour over asylum seeker figures
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage slammed today's figures
| GETTYNigel Farage has slammed Labour over today's asylum seeker figures, saying the public is "right" to be angry with the Government.
Reform UK leader said: "New figures out today show record numbers claiming asylum under Labour.
"Our streets are becoming more dangerous yet this disaster only gets worse. The public are right to be very angry with this government."
Damning data reveals just how many asylum seekers have been housed in hotels in Labour's first year in power
New figures have revealed the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels, with the cost hitting £4.76billion from 2024 to 2025.
The data shows total of 32,059 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of Labour’s first year in Government, up eight per cent on the same point 12 months ago.
WATCH: Tory councillor Niall Innes shares his views on asylum seekers in Middlesbrough
Labour minister tells GB News 'determined' to tackle 'entrenched inequalities in education'
Katherine McKinnell has told GB News that Labour is determined to change "entrenched inequalities" after data was found only 19 per cent of white British, working-class children achieved a strong pass in maths and English GCSE.
It comes as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said a failure to ensure that white working-class children succeed is holding back Britain.
The Minister for School Standards and MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, told GB News: "These findings also cast a really sharp light on these entrenched inequalities.
"We know the system is not getting outcomes we want to see, we're absolutely determined to change this."
WATCH: 'CRAZY' council slammed for ripping down England flags: 'Britain gave me everything!'
Local residents told Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp they are proud of the Union Jack and the Saint George’s Cross, saying councils are wrong to take them down.
One person said Britain had given him "so much opportunity" and questioned how anyone could not be proud of the national flag.
Another pointed out the "double standards" in Tower Hamlets, claiming the Council left Palestine flags up for weeks but removed Union flags within 24 hours.
What is included in Sir Keir Starmer's Brexit deal for fisheries?
Under the agreement between Westminster and Brussels signed in May, the EU and the UK agreed to roll over the existing fishing deal for another 12 years, until 2038, providing access to British waters for EU fishers.
However, as part of the adjacent food and drink deal means that any fish caught in British waters can now be processed and sold into the EU without veterinary checks.
Supporters of the bill say this reduces huge costs created by Brexit, and opens the door for shellfish to be sold into the EU, allowing fish to be caught in the EU, for example in the Irish sea, and processed in Great Britain.
However, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) chair Elspeth Macdonald called it "a total capitulation to the EU and a disastrous outcome for the Scottish fishing fleet."
MAPPED: The councils that could now take legal action after Epping ruling torpedoes Labour's asylum plans
MAPPED: The 11 councils that could now take legal action after Epping ruling torpedoes Labour's asylum plans | GB NEWS/PA
Councils up and down the country could now take action after this week's bombshell ruling in Epping.
It comes after the High Court temporarily blocked asylum seekers from being housed in a hotel in Epping Forest.
The ruling causes issues for the Home Office, which now has less than a month to find alternative accommodation for the asylum seekers currently housed at the Essex hotel.
Over 60 per cent of Labour voters back rejoining the EU
New polling has suggested 62 per cent of Labour voters at last year's General Election back rejoining the European Union.
The poll by BMG for The New Statesman found around 15 per cent of Reform voters back rejoining, with 79 per cent preferring to stay out.
Around 27 per cent of Labour voters from last year said the UK should stay out of the bloc.
WATCH: Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp reacts to the Epping Hotel ruling
Labour councils could revolt in taking legal action against migrant hotels
Labour-run councils are gearing up to take legal action against the Government's own asylum hotel policy.
Last night, Wirral and Tamworth councils confirmed they are considering action against migrant hotels.
Leader of Tamworth Council Carol Dean said this week's ruling provided a "potentially important precedent."
She added: "I understand the strong feelings within our community regarding the use of the Holiday Inn to house those seeking asylum, and I want to reassure residents that we are listening to their concerns and taking them seriously."
Relief for Rachel Reeves as UK public borrowing costs PLUMMET to lowest level in three years
The news will be a breath of fresh air for Chancellor Rachel Reeves
| GETTYThe UK's public borrowing costs has plummeted to its lowest level in nearly three years for July, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks was £1.1billion in July 2025, which is £2.3billion less than in July 2024.
This is a much-needed win for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who was dealt a disappointing blow after inflation for the 12 months to July 2025 jumped to 3.8 per cent.
Labour and Reform MPs team up to demand 'Brexit scrutiny committee'
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice and Labour MP Stella Creasy have formed an unlikely alliance to call for a "Brexit scrutiny committee".
Both MPs have argued that there is no scrutiny or accountability over how Brexit is being implemented.
Ms Creasy, chair of the Labour Movement for Europe and the MP for Walthamstow, said the UK needed a "salvage operation" to clear up the environmental and regulatory havoc caused by Brexit.
She told The Guardian: "I am working with Mr Tice as well as other Brexit sceptics on restoring some sort of European scrutiny committee in Parliament so we can decide if and when we want to diverge rather than it all being passive."
Nigel Farage pledges to 'rip up' EU fishing deal if Reform win next election
Nigel Farage said the fishing deal has 'massively damaged our own industry'
|GETTY
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he will rip up Sir Keir Starmer's fishing deal if he becomes prime minister.
He told The Telegraph: "It is truly astonishing that we have given away a huge sum of money.
"We’ve massively damaged our own industry, stopping future investment in return for absolutely nothing, and our coastal communities feel totally betrayed."