Epping asylum hotel protesters ‘upset for legitimate reasons’, minister says

Police outside the Bell hotel in Epping, where a dispersal order has been issued after a series of protests. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

Protesters outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping are “upset for legitimate reasons”, a cabinet minister has said, as police brace for further unrest over the coming days.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, said there was “huge frustration that is shared by the government” about the asylum system and the pressures it created on housing.