The father of a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by an asylum seeker in Epping has backed calls to have the hotel at the centre of an anti-migrant storm shut down.
The Bell Hotel, in the Essex market town, has been gripped by violent protests after an Ethiopian migrant was charged with sexual assaulting the schoolgirl just eight days after arriving in Britain on a small boat. He denies the charges.
Calls are growing for the Government to close the hotel amid rising tension in the community, with protests taking place outside the hotel on July 13, 17, 20 and again last night.
At a council meeting last night, Conservative councillor Shane Yerrell read out a message allegedly from the girl’s father, which said: ‘I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we’re feeling right now.
‘It’s not fair that the Government are putting our children and grandchildren at risk, even their own.’
He then thanked the people of Epping for their ‘kind messages’ and that they were ‘helping [my daughter] get through every day’.
Thousands of migrants are being housed across the country in taxpayer-funded hotels which have been taken over by Government – and the Home Office today accused asylum seekers of ‘gaming the system’ by refusing alternative housing.
A wave of demonstrations have followed the scenes in Epping, including in Norfolk where the Home Office is planning to replace families with single male migrants as well as a four-star Canary Wharf hotel earmarked for housing asylum seekers.
A protester jumps up and down on the roof of a police van at a protest on July 17 outside The Bell Hotel
The Bell Hotel in Epping, which has housed migrants on and off for the last five years, has become a hotspot for protests against asylum seekers
The latest unrest has been triggered after Ethiopian aslyum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences
Lindsey (left) has a daughter who goes to the same school where the girl was allegedly attacked in Epping. Phillip (right), 64, who is from Buckinghamshire, attended the protest in Epping asked: ‘How can the government put us in this situation?’
But amid the scenes of anger, counter-protesters have rushed to the hotels to insist ‘refugees are welcome’. They returned to The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf today, where police have gathered in anticipation of further protests.
The presence of counter-protesters has led to accusations of police double standards after footage emerged of Essex Police and Hampshire Police escorting them to the hotels for demonstrations.
It comes as it emerged asylum seekers could be left homeless if they refuse accommodation offered to them as the Government scrambles to end the use of taxpayer-funded hotels.
The Home Office said some migrants were ‘gaming the system’ by resisting efforts to move them into alternative housing. But under new rules, anyone who refuses to move could now lose their housing and support.
Officials said the ‘Failure to Travel’ policy was a ‘firm but fair’ approach that aims to end the abuse of taxpayer support and hasten the closure of asylum hotels.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: ‘We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system. This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders.
‘These reforms to the Failure to Travel policy are another example of this government’s action to transform the asylum accommodation system and crack down on those who abuse our system, so it operates fairly and saves the taxpayer money.’
Those living in the shadow of the hotels face an unprecedented dilemma. They insist they are not right-wing or anti-migrants, but rather no longer feel safe in their own homes.
Perhaps summing up the mood of residents in Epping, one woman told BBC Newsnight: ‘I’m really disappointed that it’s been reopened. It’s not right, there is a school right by. It’s just not correct.
‘It’s right the families of this little village actually fight for it. They are not right [wing], they are not Reform or anything like that. They are just there to protect their children.
Asked why it’s inappropriate with a school nearby, she added: ‘We don’t know where they’ve come from. It sounds so right wing but I’m not. I just find it so wrong, why did they close it in the first place? I don’t think it should be open at all.’
The Bell Hotel housed migrants for two years, ending in April last year, and asylum seekers were moved to other locations.
But today, the hotel is the epicentre of the anger, having reopened back up to house migrants three months ago.
The crisis exploded once again after after Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences only days after arriving in the UK. He denied the charges when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court last week.
It comes as an investigation by The Mail on Sunday revealed the shocking scale of serious crime being committed by migrants living in hotels nationwide.
At least 312 asylum seekers have been charged with an astonishing 708 alleged criminal offences in just three years – including rape, sexual assault, attacking emergency workers and theft.
The research, based on an analysis of court records, provides a snapshot of crimes recorded at 70 of the 220 taxpayer-funded hotels being used to house migrants, with 18 charges of rape, five of attempted rape, 35 of sexual assault, 51 of theft and 43 drug offences allegedly having been committed by residents.
Last night, Epping residents told MailOnline about feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with the ongoing crisis.
Lindsey, 58, said: ‘I’ve been in Epping for 17 years and my daughter goes to the school behind here (the hotel) and also the same school where the poor girl was allegedly attacked.
Large barriers have been set up around the four-star Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf
A police cordon and fencing is placed outside the Britannia International Hotel
Others in the community say: ‘We welcome all migrants’. Pro-migrant protesters have countered at the demonstrations
An anti-migrant protester looks on at counter-protesters outside The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf today
Stand Up To Racism protesters near the Britannia International Hotel today
An anti-immigration demonstrator holds a flag of England, outside the Britannia International Hotel
Pro-migrant protesters gathered in their droves outside the Canary Wharf hotel
Security guards are seen carrying a large package behind the cordon and into the hotel
It comes after the venue was turned into a migrant hotel, sparking fierce protests this week
A protester shouts to a group of counter-protesters outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf on July 23
Protesters and police outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf on July 23
A man holds up a poster during a demonstration outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf on July 23
The hotel in Canary Wharf has been cordoned off but workers were seen bringing beds and mattresses inside
At Canary Wharf, Lorraine (pictured), said: ‘We are here before the rent-a-mob lot come. We are here peacefully.’
‘We have been uncomfortable. There are 140 men who are there. This is a small town people talk and hear stuff all the time. In big cities those things can get flushed away and airbrushed out here we hear more.
‘And we are terrified. I’ve been here everyday and we are just mums in sundresses, facing up against police is masks and weapons.
‘At this point the hotel needs to be closed. And the people sent somewhere where they are not free to roam around before they can be vetted.
‘People think this is only about racism but it has nothing to do with race. You can be whatever colour, they could be Scottish people in there but until we know who is in our town they are not welcome. They must be vetted.’
Phillip, 64, who is from Buckinghamshire, said: ‘We have the same issue in Buckinghamshire that is why I am here. There is a hotel there and a school just round the corner.
‘We have had cases of illegals who make gestures at the children. It is disgusting. If I had a young girl I would be terrified. How can the government put us in this situation?’
Councillors in Epping have unanimously voted to urge the Government to close The Bell Hotel and the nearby Phoenix Hotel – another lodging housing migrants.
When false rumours spread online that the Epping migrants were being moved to The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf earlier this week, protesters descended on London’s financial district to voice their anger.
The four-star hotel was surrounded by the Met Police following Wednesday’s protest by anti-migrant demonstrators. A ring of steel has been formed around it as workers begun bringing in mattresses and beds.
MailOnline spoke to protesters at the hotel, with many ‘outraged’ by the Home Office plans.
During the July 17 protest in Epping, anti-immigration protestors attacked police vans with officers trapped inside
Protesters march in the streets of Epping last night, with two women carrying an English flag bearing the slogan ‘The Only Way is Epping’
People wrapped in St George’s flag faced down riot police who lined up in a queue on Hemnall Street on July 20
Dozens of officers were seen standing close to the protesters with riot helmets in their hands on July 20
Bottles and smoke flares thrown towards police vehicles stationed outside The Bell Hotel on July 20
A masked protester faces a cordon of riot police officers preventing them from getting near a small group of pro-migrant protesters
Paul, 41, an account manager who lives in the area and was live-streaming the scene on his phone, told MailOnline: ‘It is outrageous. A majority of us couldn’t afford to stay in a £400 a night hotel.
‘I don’t understand why they are getting such treatment. Everyone should be treated equally and fair.
‘I think this is going to go on until this whole operation is shut down. People are not happy. It is just not fair on the taxpayer. Me, you, the police, the protesters both the left and the right.’
Ben Cavanagh, who has lived just a couple of streets away from the hotel in Canary Wharf for all his life, said: ‘I am here to peacefully protest about these guys coming into the hotel.
‘I am basically here for the safety of my wife, my kids, my relative’s kids and anyone else around that lives in the local area.
‘We have all seen from other parts of the country what these guys are doing, not all of them but a small minority who are causing havoc to the local women and children and this won’t be happening in the Isle of Dogs.’
The 45-year-old added: ‘It has been all local people protesting. We are protesting for our families on the Isle of Dogs and our community.
‘You cannot expect to put a large group of men in one place and not expect there to be repercussions. That is my fear.
‘This will just heap more and more pressure on the local community. We are already under pressure massively, financially.’
Ben’s mother Lorraine, 70, is also concerned for the welfare of the local community. She told MailOnline: ‘We are here before the rent-a-mob lot come. We are here peacefully.
‘Our concerns are that we don’t want a repeat of what happened in Southport or in Epping. Our pensioners are terrified. They are absolutely terrified. We don’t want to get to the point of I told you so.’
But pro-migrant protesters have fought back, including spraying ‘We welcome all migrants’ in graffiti outside the hotel.
While protests are raging in the south, the feeling is similar in the north. At The Cedar Court hotel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, residents say they feel ‘vulnerable in their own homes’.
The hotel hit the headlines when it was revealed a secret Deliveroo and Uber Eats takeaway kitchen was being run, amid fears residents were staffing it.
Security was recently stepped up after the premises were daubed with ‘Stop the Boats’ and ‘Boycott Hotel’ in red paint on the walls along with other hate messages.
Police are investigating after spray paint was used on the walls and signs in the early hours of Wednesday, July 9.
At The Cedar Court hotel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, residents say they feel ‘vulnerable in their own homes’.
Anne Critchell (pictured), 70, said the crisis ‘is ridiculous and completely out of hand’
Terrence Ryder (pictured) said: ‘I just don’t think the government knows what its doing. They are supposed to be stopping the boats but they are not stopping them at all.’
Anne Critchell, 70, said the crisis ‘is ridiculous and completely out of hand’.
She said: ‘This lot frighten me. I have got security lights outside so I can see if there is anyone. In the garden. We feel vulnerable in our own homes.
‘I don’t see an end to it. I just think it is going to get worse. There were protests literally the day we moved in and we thought ‘What is going on here?’.
Walking his dog Ruby, Graham Bennett, 74, said: ‘I think it is disgrace that we are paying to keep them there. It is totally disgusting. They will not give pensioners a rise but they give them buggers it.’
Walking his dog Ruby, Graham Bennett (pictured), 74, said: ‘I think it is disgrace that we are paying to keep them there.’
Sophie, 45, who declined to give her second name, said: ‘I walk my dog a lot so I see what is going on and you can smell the cannabis.
‘My neighbour is having to close her window at night even though it is so warm because of the noise from the hotel.’
Terrance Ryder, 80, said: ‘It is the same throughout the country. I sympathise with asylum seekers but I don’t believe a big percentage of them are asylum seekers.’
Christine Ashton, 71, said: ‘I have got seven cameras up on the house now. Our lives have changed. We feel like we are being watched.
‘You feel trapped. If you go on holiday it is scary. We had only been on holiday a few days and we got broken into.
‘It is all kicking off down in Epping so it is just a matter of time before it comes up here. So everyone is feeling nervy.’
Meanwhile an asylum seeker hotel in suburban Manchester has been hit by regular rounds of protests after a story went round that migrants were getting private healthcare.
Protesters have regularly turned up at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, in recent months – with counter demonstrations from left-wing protesters chanting against them to add to the chaos.
The hotel became a focus for anti-migrant protests after widely shared fake claims that the 300 migrants at the hotel were getting free private healthcare
Tempers flared at a church hall meeting held by local Conservative councillors after it was wrongly suggested that asylum seekers would receive medical treatment from a private doctors’ service.
At the same, it was announced that Altrincham Hospital’s minor injuries unit would be closing permanently.
In reality, Gtd Healthcare, a not-for-profit organisation, rather than local services that had been given a 12-week contract to provide publicly funded NHS healthcare to the migrants.
The false claims have also led to a number of so-called anti-migrant influencers turning up with film cameras to the hotel’s reception.
And some migrant residents say they feel it is ‘now dangerous’ for them to leave the hotel.
Protesters have regularly turned up at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, in recent months. Pictured: Security at the hotel
Some migrant residents say they feel it is ‘now dangerous’ for them to leave the hotel
One male Nigerian said today: ‘We’re all scared.
‘They were a few protesters who were filming us and asking us where we were from. They were in the hotel grounds.
‘A few of them shouted: ‘Go home’. It was frightening as they were right in our faces.
‘I have also been followed while walking into the town. I came to this country to feel safe but now I don’t.
‘I came on a small boat and it was not safe. It is not worth it if my life is in danger.’
IT worker Sam Brownhill, 45, said: ‘I saw about 20 to 30 far right campaigners here the other week with Union Jack flags.
‘They were screaming stuff like go home. I fear there could be trouble here especially if the sun comes out more.’
Additional reporting: Lettice Bromovsky, Dan Woodland, Mark Branagan, Stewart Whittingham
