Police and jubilant protestors gather outside the Bell Hotel on Tuesday (Image: NC)
Andrew Husband, Reform UK leader of Durham Council, has said he has already ordered his officers to take note of the landmark Bell Hotel verdict should the authority find itself in a similar situation. And he hailed the decision as a great "example of people power” - while pledging to keep a close on hotels and houses in multiple occupation in the county.
Asylum seekers are to be removed from the hotel, in Epping in Essex, after a High Court judge granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction. The council successfully argued that the Bell Hotel in Epping was being unlawfully used to house migrants, in breach of planning rules. Mr Husband told Express.co.uk: "I have already challenged our legal team to start mapping out a defence should we face a similar challenge, on the back of this injunction.
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"It is certainly something councils can learn from and a great example of people-power underpinned with common sense.
"Something this Labour Government seems to overlook.”
Mr Husband did not name specific hotels which he was concerned about within Durham, adding: "I would rather this serves as a warning to those planning to do something similar in our county.
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"Whether in hotels or HMO’s, we will fight back in County Durham.”
"This is a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping, and for the whole country. They do not want to risk the safety of women and girls locally, and nor do we in Wales.
Epping migrant hotel protesters celebrate court win
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Reform's Laura Jones, a member of the Welsh Senedd, agreed, saying: "This is a victory for common sense and for what is right, and represents a victory for the vast majority people in our country with grave concerns about what is happening to our country.
"Young, undocumented males who break into the UK illegally should NOT be free to walk the streets anywhere. They must be detained and deported.
"The victory in Epping provides hope. Reform councils in England are exploring options to now get injunctions against the govt to get rid of migrant hotels, and Councils in Wales should follow suit."
Their words echoed those of party leader Nigel Farage, who said: "I hope that Epping provides inspiration to others across the country.”
Separately, Corina Gander, Tory leader of Broxbourne Council, said she would gather "more detail about what Epping has done" before considering a bid to shut down another hotel thought to be housing asylum seekers.
Crowds had gathered in protest outside the Cheshunt Marriott Hotel in Hertfordshire, which lies around six miles from the Bell Hotel in Epping, she added.
Chris Whitbread, the leader of Epping Forest District Council, speaks after the verdict (Image: Getty Images)
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described Tuesday's injunction as "a victory for the mums and dads I spoke to in Epping who just want their children to be safe".
In a message posted on X, she said: "Putting a hotel full of young male illegal immigrants in the middle of a community like Epping was always going to lead to issues. They need to be moved out of the area immediately.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has yet to comment although the Government is believed be braced for furher legal challenges.
The case followed weeks of protests and counter-protests outside the hotel after two residents were charged with serious offences.
One, Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and denies the charges. Another, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, faces seven counts. Several other men have also been charged with disorder linked to unrest at the site.
A STATEMENT FROM NIGEL FARAGE
This is a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping. They do not want their young women being assaulted on the streets.
This community stood up bravely, despite being slandered as far right, and have won. They represent the vast…
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 19, 2025
In Tuesday’s ruling, Mr Justice Eyre said the council had not “definitively established” a planning breach but that the strength of its case justified an injunction.
He extended the deadline for the hotel to stop accommodating asylum seekers to September 12. He added the “risk of injustice is greater” if an injunction were not granted. A two-day hearing will later decide whether to make it permanent.
The judge also rejected a Home Office attempt to intervene. Government lawyers had argued that removing asylum seekers at short notice would impose a “very significant operational burden” on the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper. Mr Justice Eyre ruled the department’s involvement was “not necessary”.
Philip Coppel KC, representing the council, described the situation as “wholly unacceptable” and a “feeding ground for unrest”. He stressed that asylum seekers were not acting unlawfully, but that Somani Hotels, the site’s owner, was at fault.
Piers Riley-Smith, for the company, called the order “draconian” and said Government contracts were a “financial lifeline” for the struggling hotel. He warned of “hardship” for both the business and the asylum seekers themselves.
Council leader Chris Whitbread welcomed the judgment, calling it “great news for our residents” after weeks of “intolerable strain”.
Somani is a family-run firm directed by Hassanali Karmali Alibhai Somani and Nilufa Hassan Somani. Registered in 2000, it is classed as a micro-entity with a turnover under ￡632,000.
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Despite modest income, the company holds assets of around ￡8 million against ￡4.6 million in liabilities, leaving net assets of roughly ￡3.4 million. Lawyers for the business have admitted that Government asylum contracts have become a “financial lifeline”, after normal trade slumped to just 1% occupancy in 2022.
That reliance has dragged the Somanis into controversy. The Bell Hotel has been at the centre of protests and a court case over its use to house asylum seekers, with the council calling the arrangement “wholly unacceptable”.
Financial filings show the firm has only limited cash reserves, about ￡400,000, compared with multi-million-pound property assets. The picture is of a business dependent on state contracts to survive, even as community anger grows over the consequences of those deals.
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