A hotel suspected of housing migrants faced its third night of protests on Sunday, July 20th. Smoke flares and bottles were thrown at police vehicles, resulting in six arrests, and reports of a police van hitting a protester.
More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex—in the largest protest outside the venue to date. Anger became focused on the premises after an Ethiopian asylum seeker was charged with sex offences locally, within days of arriving in England using a ‘small boat’ Channel crossing.
While demonstrators chanted “send them home” and “save our kids,” Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow warned in a statement
Our cells, which have been filling up throughout the evening, are ready for you.
Police were also accused of escorting counterdemonstrators—who commute into Epping to accuse locals of racism—to and from the nearby Central Line terminus. The BBC confirmed that one elderly counter-protestor received a police escort.
Essex cops imposed an overnight Section 35 dispersal order—covering Epping and its tube station—ostensibly to prevent further disorder. Previously, they announced a section 60AA order mandating the removal of non-medical, non-religious face coverings, which was lifted at 04:00 on Monday, July 21st.
Whereas previously counterdemonstrators (such as Waltham Forest Stand Up to Racism) had been arriving from out of town, the third Epping demonstration against migrant hotels was bolstered by protestors from as far afield as Scotland, who clearly think enough is enough.
