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BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Police condemn 'thugs and vandals' at Epping asylum seeker hotel protests
Update: Date: 14:48 BST Title: 'This is a powder keg situation,' says council leader Content: Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping, and Alex Burghart, the Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, have called for The Bell Hotel to be closed due to the disorder. Chris Whitbread, the Tory leader of Epping Forest District Council, has described it as a "powder keg" situation. In an interview with BBC Newsnight's Victoria Derbyshire, external, he said: "Fair-minded people within the local community, initially protesting peacefully, want the hotel closed. "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 that had "less impact on established communities" needed to be found by the Home Office. Update: Date: 14:39 BST Title: 'Categorically wrong' to say officers were driving people to protest - Essex Police Content: Essex Police has also just shared this statement with us regarding claims made on social media, which were echoed by Nigel Farage. "There are claims on social media that Essex Police officers 'bussed' protesters to the protest outside The Bell Hotel on 17 July," a spokesman says. "This is categorically wrong. "Officers did provide a foot cordon around protesters on their way to the protest, where they and others were allowed to exercise their right to protest. "Later some people who were clearly at risk of being hurt were also escorted by vehicle away from the area for their safety. "To reiterate, we categorically did not drive any counter-protesters to the site on any occasion." Update: Date: 14:35 BST Title: Farage calls for resignations over police response Content: At the press conference earlier, the chief constable was asked to respond to allegations that officers were favouring pro-asylum seeker protesters. It comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for Mr Harrington's resignation over claims made in the national press that police were ferrying those campaigners to the hotel. Mr Harrington said: "People have got the right to turn up and protest if they are peaceful and lawful. "We have not driven people to the protest, people made their own way there. "We did take people away for their safety, for the safety of people there. To defuse the situation we drove people away." Prior to the press conference, Farage accused Essex Police of being "absolutely disgraceful" in how it handled clashes between rival protesters. You can read more on this point of contention here. Update: Date: 14:32 BST Title: What did the chief constable say? Content: Ben-Julian Harrington, the Chief Constable of Essex Police, spoke to the media for about half an hour to discuss protests at The Bell Hotel in Epping. Here are some of the main points he made: Update: Date: 14:19 BST Title: Chief thanks reporters as he ends press conference Content: Mr Harrington thanks reporters as he ends the press conference. Stay with us as we bring you reaction. Update: Date: 14:19 BST Title: Some protesters are 'stoking up' tensions Content: One reporter asks how many of the protesters are from Essex. Mr Harrington replies "a large proportion", adding: "But there have, as well, been people who have come in from elsewhere to express their views." He continues: "What we have is those protesting the use of this hotel and we've got those who are pro-that." The chief constable says some have been "peaceful and legitimate", while others have been "inciting violence and stoking up" tensions. Update: Date: 14:16 BST Title: No certainty over when protests will end Content: When asked how long the protests could continue for, Mr Harrington was unsure. He says: "I'm expecting, because I am ever the optimist, there will continue to be a number of lawful and peaceful people. "Policing will make sure people, as best we can, can go about their business safely." Update: Date: 14:12 BST Title: Police will act on all crime, says chief constable Content: Mr Harrington is now reiterating that his officers will not hesitate to act on crimes allegedly committed by asylum seekers. "Where that happens, policing has and does intervene," he explains. "Like any other person in the community, we gather evidence. That's what we've done in this case and what we will do." He then referenced an incident last week that led to two hotel workers being "seriously assaulted", adding: "Two people who were there for a day's work." Update: Date: 14:07 BST Title: 'We aren't overwhelmed and outnumbered,' says police chief Content: Our reporter Stuart Woodward has just asked if Essex Police has the resources to staff future protests. He also repeated claims heard in court earlier this week that officers were "overwhelmed". Mr Harrington replies: "I don't think we were overwhelmed and outnumbered. "There are sufficient resources in place to make sure we can deal with any eventuality, supported by the rest of the country as required. "We will be here to enforce the law and allow people to carry out their rights. We will have the support of the government and the rest of policing in order to do that." Update: Date: 14:03 BST Title: Officers did not drive people to the protest - chief constable Content: People have got the right to protest if they are "peaceful and lawful", the chief constable is now saying. He stresses the majority of people turning up at The Bell Hotel have behaved responsibly - and he thanked them for that. When asked if officers drove pro-migrant protesters to the hotel, Mr Harrington says: "We have not driven people to the protest, people made their own way there. "We did take people away for their safety, for the safety of people there. To defuse the situation we drove people away." He goes on to ask people commenting online to "consider the consequences in the real world of your actions". Mr Harrington then says "irresponsible" protesters being violent is drawing officers away from other parts of Essex. Update: Date: 14:00 BST Title: 'We're giving protection to law-abiding people' Content: Mr Harrington is now taking questions from the media, having finished his speech. Asked if his officers are giving a "higher level of protection" to the pro-migrant demonstrators, he says: "I don't accept that. "The only protection our officers are giving is to the law-abiding people." He is then asked if he should resign after clashes between those demonstrators with rival protesters, but Mr Harrington says: "The issue is not about my resignation." Update: Date: 13:58 BST Title: Police warn of misinformation online Content: Addressing misinformation spreading online about the hotel and the policing operation, Mr Harrington urges people to be responsible in what they say. "There are real world consequences," he says. "Going forward we know there are a couple of protests that are advertised. We have a robust, and I stress robust, policing operation in place. "If you come here to commit crime, we will deal with that robustly." Update: Date: 13:56 BST Title: Essex Police say it is being 'absolutely impartial' Content: The senior officer now turns his attention to allegations made against an asylum seeker, who was living at The Bell Hotel, earlier this month. "Where people in these residences commit crime, we will deal with that as well," Mr Harrington says. "We are being absolutely impartial, policing according to the law." Mr Harrington praises the "bravery and commitment" of officers who he says have faced violence. Update: Date: 13:53 BST Title: Ten arrests made so far, police say Content: Mr Harrington thanks the "many peaceful" protesters who have attended to air their views. "What has been unacceptable has been the people who have come to Epping and committed violence," he continues. "Who have attacked people who worked at the hotel, who hurt officers and damaged the hotel." The chief constable says "thugs and vandals" have caused "fear and disruption" to the town, adding 10 arrests have been made so far. Update: Date: 13:51 BST Title: People cannot commit violence, says chief constable Content: We are now under way here in Boreham, hearing from Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington. "What's important to Essex Police are the communities of Epping, the communities of Essex and rights of everyone there to go about their business lawfully and peacefully," he begins. "What it is not about is allowing to people commit crime, violence or disrupt those communities. "It is important we police according to the law as it is, not how people want it to be." Update: Date: 13:45 BST Title: Police giving update - watch live Content: Police are now giving an update - press watch live above to follow along. Update: Date: 13:38 BST Title: Conference delayed due to volume of journalists arriving Content: Stuart WoodwardReporting from the press conference The press conference is a little delayed here at the moment due to extra journalists arriving, I've been told. There are about 20 or so reporters already here, gathering to hear what Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper from Essex Police has to say. After we hear from ACC Hooper, Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington will speak to the media. Update: Date: 13:21 BST Title: Journalists gather ahead of press conference Content: Reporters from national and local media outlets have gathered at the press conference in Boreham, near Chelmsford. We're expecting it to get under way any moment now. Just a reminder, you can watch along live by clicking the "watch live" button at the top of this page. Update: Date: 13:03 BST Title: Watch press conference streamed live Content: You will be able to watch the press conference live by clicking the "watch live" button at the top of this page. We're expecting it to get under way in about 15 minutes, so stick with us. Update: Date: 12:54 BST Title: 'Chilled' town has been thrust into the national spotlight Content: Lewis AdamsLive reporter in Essex Epping has found itself at the centre of the national news agenda over the past 10 days. Controversy is not what the town is familiar with, being highly regarded for its ancient Epping Forest woodland and pleasant High Street. People living in Epping, who we spoke to this week, have described watching their "chilled" area turn into a hub of protests and tension. "It's not what you would expect really," said cafe owner Geoff Morris.
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Tories must keep apologising for mistakes, says senior MP in leaked recording
The Conservatives must keep apologising to the public for mistakes in office, a senior Tory has said in a leaked tape. Alex Burghart, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told an audience of party members earlier this month that the 'Conservative Party got things wrong' and was 'chucked out of office' for it. His comments suggest a split at the heart of the party over how to handle the legacy of the last Government, after The Telegraph revealed that one of Kemi Badenoch's top aides said the 'mea culpas' from the Tories were now over. In the first leaked tape, Baroness Maclean told Tory members that the Conservatives had 'done the apologies' and should now get on with a major policy review spearheaded by Mrs Badenoch. The tape provoked anger among Tory members and voters, who felt the party had not yet done enough to apologise for failures under previous governments. One member of the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association put the comments to Mr Burghart on July 9, at a private event at the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall. The member said: 'I do think it needs a bit more of a mea culpa to convince people, and me, a party member, that there is some recognition of how catastrophic some of those policies were.' The shadow minister replied: 'The most important thing is to show, not tell, right? 'And that the first thing is, we've gone through…Kemi's gone through a period – I don't think it is over – where you have to, if you're asked about it, you say: 'Well absolutely, the Conservative Party got things wrong, that's why the British public chucked us out'. 'You know, we have gone through, [are] going through, the process of learning those mistakes.' His comments suggest a division among senior Conservatives on how to handle the electorate after the party's crushing defeat at last year's election. Most members of the Conservative front bench have refused to apologise for the party's record in Government, but have acknowledged 'mistakes' made by Rishi Sunak and his predecessors in No10. Paul Bristow, the Tory mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, reportedly told the shadow cabinet last week they should stop apologising and would not win another election 'on their knees'. Some Tories are now looking to the future, after Mrs Badenoch announced a 'policy renewal programme', which will see the party revisit some of its major policies ahead of the next election. She has already announced that the Conservatives will no longer support the UK's target of reaching net zero by 2050, which was introduced in law by Baroness May in 2019. However, the Conservatives have continued to haemorrhage support among voters as Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has gained momentum. National polls show the Tories are now languishing in third, with 17 per cent of the vote. That figure is down six points since the beginning of the year. Labour has the support of 22 per cent of voters, while Reform UK is ahead with 29 per cent. At the Conservative members' event, Mr Burghart gave a list of reasons why successive Tory governments over 14 years had been unable to deliver their plans for Britain. He named the coalition agreement with the Lib Dems, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which he said 'led to the biggest energy crisis since the 1970s, the worst inflation since the 1980s'. The debate over apologies closely mirrors internal squabbles in the Conservative Party during the New Labour years, when Tory figures traded blows over whether to apologise for Sir John Major's government. In January 2003, then former shadow minister Tim Yeo called for an end to the Tories' 'mea culpa' mentality under Baroness May, who was then serving as the Conservative Party chairman. Two years later, Sir David Davis told Tory members to 'walk tall' and 'stop apologising' for the record of previous Conservative governments. At the time, he was running to succeed Michael Howard as Tory leader, but lost the contest to Lord Cameron.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Man tried to kiss girl in Epping
A man tried to kiss a schoolgirl as she ate pizza near a busy High Street, a court Kebatu, an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, is accused of propositioning the girl while she was eating in the town centre of Epping in allegedly happened on 7 July - eight days after the 41-year-old arrived in the UK via a Magistrates' Court was told on Thursday that Mr Kebatu, of High Road in Epping, had denied three sexual offences, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. The allegations led to two MPs - Neil Hudson, Conservative MP for Epping Forest and Alex Burghart, Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar - as well as the leader of Epping Forest District Council to call for a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town to be Kebatu appeared in the dock for a case management hearing and was told he would face a two-day trial from 26 alleged Mr Kebatu asked the schoolgirl for some pizza as she ate near Epping High Street. It was alleged on 8 July Mr Kebatu had also tried to kiss an adult near a fish and chip shop in the town centre, also telling her she was "pretty" while putting his hand on her then encountered the girl again on 8 July and tried to kiss her, the court was defendant shook his head at times from the dock and clutched a bible as the prosecution case was through an interpreter, he said: "I never done [this] and I am an honest and decent person."Tia Ojo, defending, said Mr Kebatu denied all elements of what the prosecution his first court appearance, it was said that Mr Kebatu arrived in the UK on 29 June 2025 and that he was "a refugee or asylum seeker".He was remanded in custody until the trial at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Essex police warn against violence as far right exploit asylum hotel tensions
Police have warned that 'criminal violence will not be tolerated' amid tensions in an Essex town where the far right have been trying to exploit opposition to the housing of asylum seekers in a hotel. Assaults on two security staff by a group of men at a protest near the hotel in Epping on Sunday were being treated by investigators as racially aggravated, Essex police said. Both men received hospital treatment for serious injuries, according to the force, which said it also arrested a man on Tuesday after damage was caused to The Bell hotel by an individual who was seen shouting racial abuse outside it. Tensions were high ahead of the latest appearance in court on Thursday of an asylum seeker who has been charged with three counts of sexual assault. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, denies the offences, and is due to appear at Chelmsford magistrates court. There are concerns of further protests outside the hotel on Thursday, while an anti-racism demonstration is scheduled to take place near the town's rail station. Far-right activists, who have a significant local presence, were central to the protest on Sunday and have been vocal on community Facebook groups. Two local Conservative MPs called on Labour to immediately close the hotel and another in Epping, which have been used to house asylum seekers. The situation had become 'increasingly alarming and distressing in recent days,' said Neil Hudson and Alex Burghart. The flare-up comes ahead of the first anniversary of last summer's riots, which began after the murders of three young girls in Southport and resulted in attempts to burn down hotels housing asylum seekers. The chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said there was a need to speed up plans to end the use of asylum hotels, which he said had become a 'flashpoint for tension in communities, cost billions to the taxpayer, and leave people trapped in limbo'. Security fencing went up around the hotel on Wednesday. A man who said he was an asylum seeker from Libya told the Guardian that he and others still felt safe. 'We are being treated well and we just want our cases to be heard,' he added. 'There is no trouble.' A local resident said that while they and others in the community had concerns, it was also the case that outside elements and local activists had been trying to inflame the situation. 'There is a very vocal hardcore local group,' they added. 'Most people would rather it was not there, that it was back as a hotel, but it is what it is and maybe there's a case for new arrivals to be kept somewhere more secure and be checked.' Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Supt Tim Tubbs, of Essex police, said: 'We understand people's right to make their voices heard on issues which matter to them. People who do this peacefully, lawfully and responsibly cause us – and the wider public – no concern. However, we can never and will never tolerate criminal violence of any sort.' A Home Office spokesperson said the government had already taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum. 'The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, but this cannot cross the line into unlawful or violent behaviour. We continue to work closely with Essex police,' she added.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Staff assaulted in Epping in 'racially aggravated' attack
Two members of security staff at a hotel were assaulted in a "racially aggravated" incident during a protest, police Police said it was investigating after the staff members at The Bell Hotel, in High Road, Epping, were left with serious injuries after an attack on Sunday Forest District Council leader Chris Whitbread had called for the hotel to be closed. It followed the arrest of a man, from High Road, Epping, on suspicion of three sexual assaults.A force spokesman said the assault on the security staff happened at about 20:00 BST on Sunday while the protest about asylum seekers was taking place outside the hotel. The two security staff reported being attacked by a group of men, police said. The force spokesperson said the two victims managed to make their way through the protest into the hotel, with initial investigations suggesting the offences were "racially aggravated"."Both victims have received hospital treatment for serious injuries, which are thankfully not life-threatening or life-changing," said the spokesperson. Two local MPs have joined Conservative council leader Whitbread in calling for an end to The Bell Hotel being used to house asylum Hudson, Conservative MP for Epping Forest, and Alex Burghart, Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, said the Home Office did not understand the "seriousness of this situation".A Home Office spokeswoman said the asylum system was under "unprecedented strain"."That was the situation the government inherited, but we have begun to restore order, with a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK," she said."By restoring order to the system, we will be able to end the use of asylum hotels over time, and reduce the overall costs to the taxpayer of asylum accommodation." Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, is due to appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court for a second time on has has denied committing three sexual Kebatu also denied charges of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without court heard he had arrived in the UK on 29 June. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
