Protesters calling for the closure of the The Bell Hotel that housed asylum seekers gather outside the council offices in Epping, England on August 8, 2025.
Henry Nicholls / AFP
The announcement comes in the wake of protests spreading across England against migrant hotels.
The UK government pledged on Sunday, August 24th, that it would overhaul its asylum system after weekend protests broke out across the country at hotels housing migrants.
The Labour government said that it will establish a new independent body to hear appeals by failed applicants, in an effort to end the controversial use of so-called asylum hotels, which have become the subject of discontent among an increasing number of Britons.
On Friday the government said it would appeal a court ruling blocking it from housing asylum seekers in a flashpoint hotel in southeast England.
The ruling triggered the announcement of a wave of protests and counter-protests outside hotels accommodating asylum seekers around the country.
Demonstrations under the ‘Abolish Asylum System’ slogan were held on Saturday in British cities and towns including Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Perth and in central London.
Further protests are planned for today, and for Monday, August 25th, which is a public holiday in the UK.
The latest official data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March.
