Father of girl, 14, 'sexually assaulted' in Epping backs migrant hotel protests – as asylum seekers are told they'll be made homeless if they refuse to move out

The father of a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by an asylum seeker in Epping has backed calls to have the hotel at the centre of an anti-migrant storm shut down. 

The Bell Hotel, in the Essex market town, has been gripped by violent protests after an Ethiopian migrant was charged with sexual assaulting the schoolgirl just eight days after arriving in Britain on a small boat. He denies the charges.

Calls are growing for the Government to close the hotel amid rising tension in the community, with protests taking place outside the hotel on July 13, 17, 20 and again last night. 

At a council meeting last night, Conservative councillor Shane Yerrell read out a message allegedly from the girl’s father, which said: ‘I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we’re feeling right now.

‘It’s not fair that the Government are putting our children and grandchildren at risk, even their own.’

He then thanked the people of Epping for their ‘kind messages’ and that they were ‘helping [my daughter] get through every day’. 

Thousands of migrants are being housed across the country in taxpayer-funded hotels which have been taken over by the Home Office, as Britain struggles to get a grip with the small boats crisis. 

A wave of demonstrations have followed the scenes in Epping, including in Norfolk where the Home Office is planning to replace families with single male migrants as well as a four-star Canary Wharf hotel earmarked for housing asylum seekers. 

But amid the scenes of anger, counter-protesters have rushed to the hotels to insist ‘refugees are welcome’. They returned to The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf today, where police have gathered in anticipation of further protests. 

The presence of counter-protesters has led to accusations of police double standards after footage emerged of Essex Police and Hampshire Police escorting them to the hotels for demonstrations. 

It comes as it emerged asylum seekers could be left homeless if they refuse accommodation offered to them as the Government scrambles to end the use of taxpayer-funded hotels.

The Home Office said some migrants were ‘gaming the system’ by resisting efforts to move them into alternative housing.

But under new rules, anyone who refuses to move could now lose their housing and support.

Officials said the ‘Failure to Travel’ policy was a ‘firm but fair’ approach that aims to end the abuse of taxpayer support and hasten the closure of asylum hotels.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: ‘We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system. This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders.

‘These reforms to the Failure to Travel policy are another example of this government’s action to transform the asylum accommodation system and crack down on those who abuse our system, so it operates fairly and saves the taxpayer money.’

Those living in the shadow of the hotels face an unprecedented dilemma. They insist they are not right-wing or anti-migrants, but rather no longer feel safe in their own homes.

Perhaps summing up the mood of residents in Epping, one woman told BBC Newsnight: ‘I’m really disappointed that it’s been reopened. It’s not right, there is a school right by. It’s just not correct.

‘It’s right the families of this little village actually fight for it. They are not right [wing], they are not Reform or anything like that. They are just there to protect their children.

Asked why it’s inappropriate with a school nearby, she added: ‘We don’t know where they’ve come from. It sounds so right wing but I’m not. I just find it so wrong, why did they close it in the first place? I don’t think it should be open at all.’ 

The Bell Hotel housed migrants for two years, ending in April last year, and asylum seekers were moved to other locations. 

But today, the hotel is the epicentre of the anger, having reopened back up to house migrants three months ago.

The crisis exploded once again after after Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences only days after arriving in the UK. He denied the charges when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court last week.

It comes as an investigation by The Mail on Sunday revealed the shocking scale of serious crime being committed by migrants living in hotels nationwide. 

At least 312 asylum seekers have been charged with an astonishing 708 alleged criminal offences in just three years – including rape, sexual assault, attacking emergency workers and theft.

The research, based on an analysis of court records, provides a snapshot of crimes recorded at 70 of the 220 taxpayer-funded hotels being used to house migrants, with 18 charges of rape, five of attempted rape, 35 of sexual assault, 51 of theft and 43 drug offences allegedly having been committed by residents.

Last night, Epping residents told MailOnline about feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with the ongoing crisis.

Lindsey, 58, said: ‘I’ve been in Epping for 17 years and my daughter goes to the school behind here (the hotel) and also the same school where the poor girl was allegedly attacked.

‘We have been uncomfortable. There are 140 men who are there. This is a small town people talk and hear stuff all the time. In big cities those things can get flushed away and airbrushed out here we hear more.

‘And we are terrified. I’ve been here everyday and we are just mums in sundresses, facing up against police is masks and weapons.

‘At this point the hotel needs to be closed. And the people sent somewhere where they are not free to roam around before they can be vetted.

‘People think this is only about racism but it has nothing to do with race. You can be whatever colour, they could be Scottish people in there but until we know who is in our town they are not welcome. They must be vetted.’

Phillip, 64, who is from Buckinghamshire, said: ‘We have the same issue in Buckinghamshire that is why I am here. There is a hotel there and a school just round the corner.

‘We have had cases of illegals who make gestures at the children. It is disgusting. If I had a young girl I would be terrified. How can the government put us in this situation?’

Councillors in Epping have unanimously voted to urge the Government to close The Bell Hotel and the nearby Phoenix Hotel – another lodging housing migrants.

When false rumours spread online that the Epping migrants were being moved to The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf earlier this week, protesters descended on London’s financial district to voice their anger.

The four-star hotel was surrounded by the Met Police following Wednesday’s protest by anti-migrant demonstrators. A ring of steel has been formed around it as workers begun bringing in mattresses and beds.

MailOnline spoke to protesters at the hotel yesterday, with many ‘outraged’ by the Home Office plans.

Paul, 41, an account manager who lives in the area and was live-streaming the scene on his phone, told MailOnline: ‘It is outrageous. A majority of us couldn’t afford to stay in a £400 a night hotel.

‘I don’t understand why they are getting such treatment. Everyone should be treated equally and fair.

‘I think this is going to go on until this whole operation is shut down. People are not happy. It is just not fair on the taxpayer. Me, you, the police, the protesters both the left and the right.

Ben Cavanagh, who has lived just a couple of streets away from the hotel in Canary Wharf for all his life, said: ‘I am here to peacefully protest about these guys coming into the hotel.

‘I am basically here for the safety of my wife, my kids, my relative’s kids and anyone else around that lives in the local area.

‘We have all seen from other parts of the country what these guys are doing, not all of them but a small minority who are causing havoc to the local women and children and this won’t be happening in the Isle of Dogs.’

The 45-year-old added: ‘It has been all local people protesting. We are protesting for our families on the Isle of Dogs and our community.

‘You cannot expect to put a large group of men in one place and not expect there to be repercussions. That is my fear.

‘This will just heap more and more pressure on the local community. We are already under pressure massively, financially.’

Ben’s mother Lorraine, 70, is also concerned for the welfare of the local community. She told MailOnline: ‘We are here before the rent-a-mob lot come. We are here peacefully.

‘Our concerns are that we don’t want a repeat of what happened in Southport or in Epping. Our pensioners are terrified. They are absolutely terrified. We don’t want to get to the point of I told you so.’

But pro-migrant protesters have fought back, including spraying ‘We welcome all migrants’ in graffiti outside the hotel. 

While protests are raging in the south, the feeling is similar in the north. At The Cedar Court hotel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, residents say they feel ‘vulnerable in their own homes’.

The hotel hit the headlines when it was revealed a secret Deliveroo and Uber Eats takeaway kitchen was being run, amid fears residents were staffing it.

Security was recently stepped up after the premises were daubed with ‘Stop the Boats’ and ‘Boycott Hotel’ in red paint on the walls along with other hate messages.

Police are investigating after spray paint was used on the walls and signs in the early hours of Wednesday, July 9.

Anne Critchell, 70, said the crisis ‘is ridiculous and completely out of hand’.

She said: ‘This lot frighten me. I have got security lights outside so I can see if there is anyone. In the garden. We feel vulnerable in our own homes.

‘I don’t see an end to it. I just think it is going to get worse. There were protests literally the day we moved in and we thought ‘What is going on here?’.

Walking his dog Ruby, Graham Bennett, 74, said: ‘I think it is disgrace that we are paying to keep them there. It is totally disgusting. They will not give pensioners a rise but they give them buggers it.

‘Then there is the homeless as well. The management of the hotel are making money out of us and our taxis.

‘No one can stay at the hotel anymore and there is security on the gate stopping us going in. Ninety per cent of people disagree with the agreement.

‘The Government say they cannot stop them coming over. But they are giving them more and more money. If they did not give them anything they would not want come over here.’

Sophie, 45, who declined to give her second name, said: ‘I walk my dog a lot so I see what is going on and you can smell the cannabis.

‘My neighbour is having to close her window at night even though it is so warm because of the noise from the hotel.

‘Last year, I was walking my dog and found one of their benefit cards. I rang the number on the card and they told me hand it in at the hotel.

‘When I got into reception there was security residents drinking and smoking and I was told I was not supposed to set foot on the premises.’

Martine, 40, who declined to give her second name, said: ‘The other month there was quite a serious incident with my daughter I had to report to police.

‘I was painting the fence and my daughter asked to walk the dog down the street to the lamp post and back.

‘She is only seven and has never ventured anywhere. I looked up to see a guy crossing the road towards her.

‘I shouted to her. She did not hear me. So I legged it down the road. He clocked me and pretended to be stroking the dog.

‘But he had been heading directly for my daughter and there was no other reason to cross the road other than seeing a child on her own.

‘It was really scary. I reported it to police. They went to the hotel to take his details but there was nothing concrete so there were no charges.

‘The noise has got really bad. There is no number to ring when they are playing music really loud at 10pm at night.

‘We are concerned that they are protesting again down south. I just don’t want it to kick off up here again.

‘When it happened last year it was horrendous with all the police presence and goodness knows how much it was all happening.’

Terrance Ryder, 80, said: ‘It is the same throughout the country. I sympathise with asylum seekers but I don’t believe a big percentage of them are asylum seekers.

‘They are all young men coming here to work for a while. I think they ought to be moving them on. 

‘I just don’t think the government knows what its doing. They are supposed to be stopping the boats but they are not stopping them at all.

Christine Ashton, 71, said: ‘I have got seven cameras up on the house now. Our lives have changed. We feel like we are being watched.

‘You feel trapped. If you go on holiday it is scary. We had only been on holiday a few days and we got broken into.

‘It is all kicking off down in Epping so it is just a matter of time before it comes up here. So everyone is feeling nervy.’

Chris Mitchell, 61, said: ‘It is getting worse. When these guys first came over five years ago they were really nice. Now the smoke cannabis and party until 12 o clock at night.

‘They have got a sense of entitlement over the last six to 12 months. Two weeks ago I was at my wits end because it was so hot.

‘I had my windows open and weed was blowing through it. It was beyond a joke. I have to get every morning for work to pay for all them.

‘Security and management have lost control now. There used to be a 9pm curfew and it was fine.

‘Residents are afraid to walk down the gunnel at night.’ 

Another male resident, aged 75, said: ‘I can see they are refugees who may be fleeing death threats. But they are staying in a four star hotel and see to have free reign where they go and what they do.’

Meanwhile an asylum seeker hotel in suburban Manchester has been hit by regular rounds of protests after a story went round that migrants were getting private healthcare.

Protesters have regularly turned up at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, in recent months – with counter demonstrations from left-wing protestors chanting against them to add to the chaos.

The hotel became a focus for anti-migrant protests after widely shared fake claims that the 300 migrants at the hotel were getting free private healthcare

Tempers flared at a church hall meeting held by local Conservative councillors after it was wrongly suggested that asylum seekers would receive medical treatment from a private doctors’ service.

At the same, it was announced that Altrincham Hospital’s minor injuries unit would be closing permanently.

In reality, Gtd Healthcare, a not-for-profit organisation, rather than local services that had been given a 12-week contract to provide publicly funded NHS healthcare to the migrants.

The false claims have also led to a number of so-called anti-migrant influencers turning up with film cameras to the hotel’s reception.

And some migrant residents say they feel it is ‘now dangerous’ for them to leave the hotel.

One male Nigerian said today: ‘We’re all scared.

‘They were a few protesters who were filming us and asking us where we were from. They were in the hotel grounds.

‘A few of them shouted: ‘Go home’. It was frightening as they were right in our faces.

‘I have also been followed while walking into the town. I came to this country to feel safe but now I don’t.

‘I came on a small boat and it was not safe. It is not worth it if my life is in danger.’

IT worker Sam Brownhill, 45, said: ‘I saw about 20 to 30 far right campaigners here the other week with Union Jack flags.

‘They were screaming stuff like go home. I fear there could be trouble here especially if the sun comes out more.’

There are concerns the unrest will spiral into a summer of protests. Adding to the anger is accusations of police double standards.

In Epping, Essex Police admitted escorting pro-migrant protesters to The Bell Hotel after initially denying they had done this. Officers from Hampshire Police were filmed doing the same, on May 10, at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot in new footage.

Yesterday, a policing leader said the protests in Epping were a ‘signal flare’ revealing how ill-equipped forces are to deal with disorder.

Tiff Lynch, head of the Police Federation in England and Wales, which represents rank-and-file officers, warned that unrest at The Bell was ‘not just a troubling one-off’ but a reminder of the ‘deep fragility within our public order policing system’.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned: ‘There is no question, this is the unhappiest I have seen, I think, the UK in a long, long time and it’s all coming to a head.’

He told Talk TV: ‘The migrants issue is a major cause of this.’

Jonathan Reynolds, the Business and Trade Secretary, said protesters in Epping were ‘upset for legitimate reasons’.

He acknowledged there was ‘huge frustration that is shared by the Government’ about the asylum system and the pressures it has created on housing.

When asked whether he was worried about unrest spreading, the Cabinet minister told Sky News that the Government, police and other enforcement agencies were ‘prepared for all situations’.

He said: ‘I think what we’ve got to talk about is: Why are people unhappy with, say, the asylum system? Are they reasonable?

‘Are they upset for legitimate reasons? Yes, we share those as a government.

‘That is why we are sorting it out. And I understand the frustrations people have, but ultimately, you solve those frustrations and solve the problem by fixing and getting a grip of the core issue, which is what we’re doing.’

Mr Reynolds said the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers in the UK had halved from 400 to about 200.

He added: ‘The solution is not putting people in different forms of accommodation, it’s about having a system where if people shouldn’t be in the UK, they have to leave the UK.’

Sixteen people were arrested after a protest at The Bell last week. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged.

A planned march from The Bell to an emergency meeting of councillors last night threatened to bring disorder but, thanks to rain and a heavy police presence, fewer protesters than expected turned up.

Many seemed to be so-called social media influencers, recording themselves live on their phones. Having been kept behind the metal barriers, a number of women led a steady stream of walkers chanting ‘save our kids’.

Essex Police had threatened protesters with arrest if they caused trouble, issuing a dispersal order in the area.