Protests over asylum seeker accommodation have intensified in England, coinciding with the launch of a new UK-France deal to return migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.
For the past three weeks, Epping – a market town of 11,000, north-east of London – has found itself at the heart of Britain’s simmering immigration debate.
What began with the arrest of a 38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker, accused of attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl, has spiralled into protests across England, far-right mobilisation and mounting fears of wider unrest.
The man was reportedly charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and harassment without violence, sparking immediate local backlash.
Within hours, far-right activists surrounded the hotel where the man was being housed, demanding an end to migrant accommodation in the area.
Since then, similar protests have erupted at other hotels across England, and at least 18 people having been arrested and eight police officers injured in clashes between anti-immigration protesters and anti-racist groups.
The Labour government, wary of a repeat of the violent scenes of the summer of 2024, put 3,000 riot police on standby last weekend.
Far-right, anti-immigration protests and riots broke out across England and Northern Ireland following a mass stabbing at a Southport dance class on 29 July, 2024, in which three children were killed.
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Policy under fire
Local frustration is fuelled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's asylum housing policy, which places arrivals in hotels for months, sometimes years, at a cost of £8.5 million a day (just under €10 million).
“Enough is enough,” said Holly Whitbread, Conservative regional councillor for Epping, speaking to RFI. “We don’t know who these people are being housed here, and many residents don’t feel safe or protected. It’s frankly irresponsible of the government to continue to ignore us.”
Several councils are now demanding the closure of such hotels, while the Home Office has begun relocating some asylum seekers.
UK says first migrants held under return deal with France
UK-France migrant returns pact
The unrest comes as the UK has implemented a new “one in, one out” migrant returns deal with France, aimed at curbing small boat crossings on the English Channel.
Under the pilot scheme, ratified last week, undocumented arrivals will be sent back to France, in exchange for Britain accepting the same number of legitimate asylum seekers with family ties in the UK.
Starmer says the plan will help “smash the gangs” of people smugglers, with French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau echoing this, saying the “clear objective” is to dismantle trafficking networks.
