Britain’s beleaguered Labour government has come out in muted support of Essex Police, the local constabulary accused of mishandling local protests outside a ‘migrant hotel,’ following an Ethiopian hotel resident being charged with sexual offences against a 14-year-old girl.
Speaking to Sky News, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was asked about revelations that Essex Police escorted ‘antifascist’ (pro-migrant) counterprotestors to the protest outside the Bell Hotel, Epping. His reply, prefaced with ”I understand the frustrations people have,” was as follows:
I don’t think it’s helpful to speculate or comment on that as someone who hasn’t been part of that decision-making. I think the police in the main do an excellent job in really difficult circumstances when you’ve got two sides, two sides of British public opinion rightfully protesting in a in a way which is legitimate [sic].
The equivocal mumbling from Reynolds came amid calls for Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington to resign, after he denied claims that his officers ‘bussed’ counter-demonstrators to a protest outside the Bell, only for this to be contradicted by footage of the counterprotestors, some sympathetic to the misnamed Hope Not Hate hate group, receiving a police escort.
The government also faced pressure in the House of Lords over the issue—which is nothing compared to public unrest following the recent announcement to use a four-star hotel in the Canary Wharf financial district as an ‘overflow’ space for ‘small boat’ asylum seekers.
