Arrests made following protests at Epping asylum hotel

• Three men were arrested in Epping after police officers sustained injuries during a protest outside The Bell Hotel, which is being used to house asylum seekers.
• The protest on Friday occurred after the Government won a court challenge, allowing asylum seekers to continue being accommodated at the Essex hotel.
• Arrests included one man for violent disorder, another for assaulting a police officer, and a third for drink driving after a car was driven towards a police cordon.
• Essex Police confirmed the arrests and implemented a dispersal order, with Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin stating that while protest is a democratic right, committing crime is not.
• The Bell Hotel has been a focal point for protests, partly due to an asylum seeker housed there being charged with sexual assault, while a similar situation affects a hotel in nearby Cheshunt.

IN FULL

Three arrested after police officers injured at Epping asylum hotel protest