Migrant hotels across Britain could be forced to close after a shock High Court ruling threw the Government’s asylum plans into turmoil.
Council bosses in Essex won a temporary injunction to shut the Bell Hotel in Epping on Tuesday, after weeks of protests outside the site. All asylum seekers must now leave by September 12.
Judges sided with Epping Forest District Council, who argued housing asylum seekers there was a “clear breach of planning permission” because it was no longer being used as a hotel.
The decision has sparked a political storm – and could open the floodgates for other councils to follow suit.
‘Other councils will act’
On Tuesday night, Tory and Reform UK leaders said town halls up and down the country may now try to shut migrant hotels in their own areas.
Home Office lawyers had begged the court to step in, warning that more injunctions would heap “pressures on the asylum estate” and could fuel further protests. But their bid was rejected.
Writing in The Telegraph, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage urged people to rally against hotels. He said:
“Now the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around the country.
“Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example.
“Let’s hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels and put pressure on local councils to go to court to get the illegal immigrants out. Because now we know that together we can win. I can say today the councils controlled by the party I lead, Reform UK, will be doing everything in their power to follow Epping’s lead.”
Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary, said:
“It is very likely that many other councils will now take similar legal action. This would leave the Government’s asylum accommodation policy in disarray given the chaos being caused in communities, including serious criminal offences such as sexual attacks.”
By Tuesday evening, Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire said it was considering its own injunction against a four-star hotel housing migrants.
Violent protests
The Bell Hotel, opened for asylum seekers in 2020 under the Tories, became a flashpoint last month after Hadush Kebatu, 41, an Ethiopian migrant living there, was charged with sexual offences, including against a 14-year-old girl. He denies all charges.
After the court ruling, around a dozen people gathered outside the hotel waving flags and shouting: “We’ve won.”
Ministers respond
Angela Eagle, Border Security Minister, said “This Government inherited a broken asylum system.” Yet one of the first things Labour did when they came into power was to cancel the Conservative’s Rwanda plan just as it was ready to start.
The Labour Minister said:
“We will continue working with local authorities and communities to address legitimate concerns. Our work continues to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament.
“We will carefully consider this judgment.”
A Labour source accused Tory councils of “trying to out-Reform Reform” and said politicians were “fanning the flames” of protest.
The Home Office had insisted the Bell Hotel was “an appropriate site” and warned shutting it could breach asylum seekers’ human rights. But judges disagreed, ruling the “balance of convenience” lay in favour of closing it.
What happens next?
The case now heads to a full judicial review in the autumn. The hotel’s owners, Somani Hotels, may also appeal to delay the eviction.
Chris Whitbread, leader of Epping Forest council, said:
“They need to look at their own planning rules … this is a breach of planning, and that’s why we’ve been given a judgment today.
“We may be a bit of a test case. I have to say, I’ve been extremely disappointed in the Home Office from day one. They didn’t listen, they didn’t consult. They instructed, and therefore that’s why they find themselves with this problem. They need to address the issue at the borders.”
More than 200 hotels are now housing asylum seekers, after a record 28,000 Channel crossings so far in 2025 under Labour.
Ministers are now scrambling to find alternatives, including disused student halls, old teacher training colleges and private homes.
But for campaigners, the High Court ruling is being seen as a watershed moment. As one activist put it: “For every one they shut, another council will rise.”
Perhaps it’s time to bring back the Rwanda Plan.
