The “very worst” kind of politicians “try to drive people apart”, the security minister has said in response to comments made by Nigel Farage over the use of asylum hotels.
Dan Jarvis accused the Reform UK leader of fanning the flames of division that has seen protests flare up outside hotels housing asylum seekers after Mr Farage celebrated a council’s successful legal challenge against one in Epping.
Epping Forest District Council won an interim High Court injunction to stop asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel, arguing it had become a “feeding ground for unrest” in recent weeks after a series of violent protests resulted in multiple arrests and saw police officers injured.
In response, Mr Farage wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “Now, the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain.
“Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex.
“Let’s hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.”
The Reform leader also vowed to challenge the use of asylum hotels in any of the 10 local authorities controlled by his party.
Asked about Mr Farage’s comments, minister Mr Jarvis told Sky News: “I’ve always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart.”
He said the government is looking closely at the verdict in Epping as the Home Office considers launching an appeal. He also confirmed officials are looking at alternative accommodation for up to 138 asylum seekers currently being housed at The Bell Hotel.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper made a last-minute attempt on Tuesday to halt their removal, arguing that other councils would make similar applications for migrant accommodation in their areas.
Labour is now bracing for dozens of local authorities to challenge the use of asylum hotels in their areas on similar grounds, with Home Office lawyers having warned that the decision could “substantially impact” the government’s use of the accommodation.
On Tuesday night, Conservative-run Broxbourne borough council announced it was considering pursuing its own injunction.
The council revealed it would “take legal advice as a matter of urgency” about attempting to shut down a four-star asylum hotel in the Hertfordshire town.
Meanwhile, the leader of South Norfolk District Council, which covers the town of Diss where a hotel housing asylum seekers has also been the subject of protests, said the council would not go down the same route.
Conservative leader Daniel Elmer said the council was using planning rules to try to ensure it was families being housed in the area rather than single adult males. He said to do so, which would effectively convert the hotels into hostels, should require a change of use.
The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction in Epping could “interfere” with the department’s legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel’s owner argued it would set a “precedent”.
The Bell Hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch suggested that the migrants housed at the hotel “need to be moved out of the area immediately”, while her shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that “residents should never have had to fight their own government just to feel safe in their own town”.
He said: “Local residents have every right to feel safe in their own streets and every right to object when their community is treated as a dumping ground.”
