Three arrested after appeals court ruling on UK migrant hotel

LONDON (AFP): Three men were arrested after two police officers suffered minor injuries during a protest outside a UK hotel used to house asylum seekers, police said Saturday.

The new protests, the latest episode in a bitter national debate over immigration policy, came after an appeals court on Friday overturned a lower-court decision temporarily blocking the use of the protest-hit hotel at Epping, northeast of London, to house asylum-seekers.

“The overwhelming majority of people in Epping tonight clearly wanted their voices to be heard and they did that safely and without the need for a police response,” said Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin of Essex police.

“However, the right to protest does not include a right to commit crime and tonight a small number of people were arrested. Two officers sustained injuries which are thankfully not serious,” he added.

The case came after a resident at the Bell Hotel was charged with sexually assaulting a local girl, sparking weeks of protests that have at times turned violent.

The protests in Epping have spread to other parts of Britain, amid growing frustration at the continued arrival of small boats packed with migrants across the English Channel from France.

More than 50,000 migrants have made the dangerous crossing since the Labour Party’s Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024.

The three arrested men remained in custody, Essex police said.