Epping Forest District Council won an interim injunction last week, when Mr Justice Eyre found that Somani Hotels had “sidestepped public scrutiny and explanation” by accommodating asylum seekers without planning consent. He said “the strength of the claimant’s case is such that it weighs in favour” of granting the injunction.
Reading the decision, Mr Justice Bean said the Home Office has a “clear statutory duty” to asylum seekers.
Mr Justice Bean said: “The home secretary has clear statutory duties to asylum seekers under 1999 legislation. These include a duty to provide support to them and prevent destitution.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)Mr Justice Bean added the provision of asylum seekers is a “national issue requiring structured response”.
Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, told the court ahead of the hearing that the injunction would “substantially impact on the Home Secretary’s statutory duties” and “cause particular acute difficulties at the present date”.
Police officers stand outside the The Bell Hotel, housing asylum seekers in Epping as protests are expected from far right groups. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Bell Hotel has been the focus of multiple demonstrations in recent weeks, including protests by residents and counter-protests supporting asylum seekers.
The Court of Appeal heard that the injunction creates a “risk of a precedent being set”. Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels, said there were 138 asylum seekers currently housed at the Bell Hotel and that Mr Justice Eyre “overlooked” the “hardship” that would be caused to them.
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He added that the injunction is set to cause “the loss of accommodation for asylum seekers”, which would impact the Home Office’s ability to perform its legal duties, and that there was “no evidence where exactly they would go” if it was not overturned.
He said: “There was no error of law in the judge’s approach, and his decision, based on a carefully calibrated assessment of the relevant factors, was open to him. Notwithstanding the public controversy surrounding the judge’s decision, it was based on the conventional application of well-settled and agreed principles of law.”
Latest Home Office data shows there were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of June, up from 29,585 a year earlier but slightly down on the 32,345 figure at the end of March.
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