Epping asylum hotel protest a 'powder keg', says council leader
The protests followed the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults in the town.Whitbread repeated calls for the hotel to stop housing asylum seekers following the incident. Six people have been arrested following the latest protest with one man accused of violent disorder. Whitbread said there were concerns about the location which is near a school and the town centre."Fair-minded people within the local community, initially protesting peacefully, want the hotel closed," he said. "I have to say, as the leader of the council, that's always been my position and the council's position. This is just not a suitable location. The sooner it's dealt with, the better."He said he sympathised with the "vulnerable" asylum seekers at the hotel but stressed locations which had "less impact on established communities" needed to be found by the Home Office. "It's a powder keg now and we need to get something done and we need the Home Office to listen," he added.Asked if he had a message for Mr Yaxley-Lennon and his supporters, Mr Whitbread said: "Keep away, [you're] not welcome here in Epping Forest. "What we want to do is make sure our town stays peaceful and people can enjoy their lives here. That's the most important message to get through."Mr Yaxley-Lennon has been contacted for comment.
Downing Street previously said the scenes at Epping were "clearly unacceptable".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."
A Home Office spokeswoman had told the BBC the asylum system was under "unprecedented strain"."That was the situation the government inherited, but we have begun to restore order," she said.Essex Police said it was disappointed to see the protest escalate into "mindless thuggery" after one officer was struck in the face with a bottle and taken to hospital for treatment.
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Sky News
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- Sky News
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From this Friday, all platforms must introduce stronger protections for children online, including a legal requirement for all pornography sites accessed in the UK to have effective age verification in place - such as facial age estimation or ID checks. Mr Kyle added: "I don't just want the base level set where kids aren't being criminally exploited and damaged, that shouldn't be the height of our aspirations. The height of our aspirations should be a healthy experience." Labour MP Lola McEvoy, who organised the focus group, said: "I knew things were bad online for children and young people but their testimony revealed the extent of explicit, disturbing and toxic content that is now the norm. "Their articulation of the changes they wanted to see was excellent and they've done our town and their generation proud." Tiktok, Pinterest, Meta and Snapchat were contacted for comment, but none provided an on the record statement. The companies have accounts for under-16s with parental controls and some set reminders for screen time. TikTok has a 60-minute daily screen time limit for under-18s after which they must enter a password to continue, and a reminder to switch off at 10pm. The company say this is to support a healthy relationship with screen time. Pinterest have supported phone-free policies at schools, in the US and Canada and say they are looking to expand this elsewhere.
