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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Ben Quinn Political correspondent

Asylum seekers removed from Essex hotel targeted by far right as Home Office ends contract

Two police officers in high-visibility jackets stand near a police van and barriers outside the Bell hotel with an England flag flying
Police officers stand outside the Bell hotel in Epping in July 2025 after protests following the arrest of an asylum seeker. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Asylum seekers have been removed from the Epping hotel that became a flashpoint for anti-immigration protests across England last summer as the Home Office terminates its contract with the establishment.

The hotel on the outskirts of the Essex town was the scene of increasingly large protests after an asylum seeker who was living there sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman.

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