Essex Police and Crime Commissioner issues statement on Bell Hotel protests
Crime / Tue 22nd Jul 2025 at 05:01pm
STATEMENT from the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst, on the protests in Epping Forest
“The level of violence we are seeing on the streets of Epping is not acceptable. Whilst peaceful protest is a fundamental part of our democracy, and we will always support the right of individuals to express their views lawfully and responsibly, this unlawful activity must stop in the interests of our local law-abiding residents.
I have today written to the Home Secretary, requesting a meeting to discuss the ongoing use of hotels in the Epping Forest District of Essex, and elsewhere in the county, to accommodate newly arrived asylum seekers. Specifically, I am seeking to highlight the unsuitability of The Bell Hotel in Epping for this purpose, and request that its use be reviewed.
The presence of asylum seeker accommodation in this district is clearly creating community tension. These large-scale protests are disrupting local life and placing an unwelcome burden on Essex Police resources.
“Those who protest peacefully, within the law, and with respect for others pose no concern to our police or to the wider public. But I want people to be clear. Criminal violence of this nature will not be tolerated. The safety of the public and of our officers, and those involved in lawful protest is paramount”.
Seamus
2025-07-22 17:37:44
I am puzzled by officials statements. Only last week they said on one day that they had 1,000 protesters and only 6 were arrested, two of whom were arrested for sillyness from a few days before. How does that tie in with other official claims of violent protests?
Doreen
2025-07-22 18:16:46
What happens if you have a politician heading up our nonpartisan police service.
A B
2025-07-22 18:22:09
Good to see more charges being laid again the thugs.
Michael beere
2025-07-22 20:16:25
This commissioner needs sacking. Give in to the thugs by saying Epping is not a suitable place for asylum seekers. That's pathetic and just encourages further so called intimidating peaceful protests to descend into violence until they get what they want.
John Farrer
2025-07-22 22:37:06
Why did the police seek confrontation by escorting outsiders, who appear to support illegal immigration, to the hotel from the station. Surely that asking for trouble ?
David Forman
2025-07-23 04:11:54
The asylum system has been mismanaged for years by past Conservative governments creating a huge backlog of claims. It has also created huge profits for hotel owners and especially companies like Serco and Clearwater who manage the accommodation contracts.The former independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Neal, repeatedly reported about the chaos, but was ignored. To give just one example of the social care visa scheme, Neal reported: "This report details the shocking results of the policy's implementation, including the case of 275 certificates of sponsorship being granted to a care home that did not exist, and 1,234 certificates being granted to a company that stated it had only four employees when given a licence. In just these two examples, up to 1,500 people could have arrived in this country and been encouraged by a risk of hardship or destitution to work outside the conditions of their visa." So it is really a case of Conservative governments unlocking the door and looking the other way for a steady stream of cheap, easily exploited labour. See https://www.ein.org.uk/news/david-neal-details-shocking-findings-over-care-visas-and-border-security-city-airport-final
David Forman
2025-07-23 04:31:44
The fiasco of the Tories social care visa is succinctly summarised by former ICIBI chief David Neal as: "The net effect of these mistakes is that the Home Office created a system that invited large numbers of low-skilled workers to this country who are at risk from exploitation. Moreover, its control measures to mitigate the risk were totally inadequate. There is just one compliance officer for every 1,600 employers licensed to sponsor migrant workers." A case of the Tories creating cheap migrant labour, then stirring the pot sufficiently to antagonize the plebs. See ICIBI official social care visa report at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6602a6b765ca2fa78e7da854/An_inspection_of_the_immigration_system_as_it_relates_to_the_social_care_sector_August_2023_to_November_2023.pdf
Jill
2025-07-23 04:59:29
The women and girls of Epping are now safer.
Sodthisforalark
2025-07-23 08:44:14
Yes Jill, the man responsible for attacking that young girl was arrested which has zero to do with the protests. Protesters didn't help with the police investigation against the man, they didn't make any women or girls safer, in fact they don't make any area safer, quite the opposite when it turns violent.
David Forman
2025-07-23 09:02:21
If you want to know why so many asylum seekers are staying for such long periods in hotels, then David Neal of the ICIBI has the answer in a report sent to the Home Office in January 2024: "This is the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s fourth inspection of asylum casework in the last seven years. The most recent, in 2021, identified issues with workflow processes, interview and decision quality, and pressure on staff to meet targets, which affected morale and attrition rates. In the absence of a service standard, decision-making times were increasing, and claims were not being effectively prioritised. Since then, a service standard has still not been introduced, despite the Home Office accepting a recommendation to do so, and delays in the asylum system led to a record number of claimants (over 139,000) awaiting an initial decision in February 2023. This is part of a pattern seen by the ICIBI in which its recommendations are accepted by the Home Office but not delivered. The record number of claimants placed acute pressure on the asylum accommodation system, with the cost of housing asylum claimants in hotels exceeding £6 million per day. As a result, it is clear that the Home Office did not implement the recommendations from the previous inspection with sufficient rigour. The efficient processing of asylum claims was hampered by the absence of a service standard and the resulting lack of accountability." See report at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65e06d45f1cab36b60fc47ad/An_inspection_of_asylum_casework_June_to_October_2023.pdf
James
2025-07-23 14:21:34
What does Mr Hirst have to say about Essex Police collecting the counter-protesters from the underground station and escorting them to the Bell Hotel? Some of them were physically ferried in police vehicles. The police then allowed the counter-protesters to antagonise the situation to such a degree that a riot almost ensued, at which point they escorted them back to the tube station, and called the Met Police riot squad to come down and batter the protesters.
A B
2025-07-23 16:36:43
Police accompanied people from Epping Underground, this still being a free country, the additional protesters could have walked to the Bell in any circumstances, the police wee ensuring the two groups didn't meet-up. The only people escorted in police vehicles were those arrested.
Tom Archer
2025-07-24 11:42:51
He needs to express an opinion on the suitability of Mr Harrington to stay in post following the bussing in scandal at Epping. If he runs away from that, he can only be seen as complicit
James
2025-07-24 14:39:35
@ A B - your idea of ensuring the two groups didn't meet up is to escort one group to the same place where the other group already are?
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