A police officer has been punched in the face in Canary Wharf and anti-migrant protesters have gathered outside the Epping Forest District Council building as tensions continue to rise over the use of asylum hotels.
Metropolitan Police said that one of their force was lucky not to suffer significant injury while facilitating the initially “peaceful anti-asylum protest on the Isle of Dogs” on Sunday afternoon.
Later, a group of protesters, including some masked, move into the Canary Wharf shopping centre where a small group became aggressive towards the police.
Four arrests were made following the protest , which saw people gather outside the Britannia International Hotel, which was subject to controversy last month after the Government decided to use it as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, around 200 protesters have marched on Epping’s council offices, where a woman climbed the steps and unfurled a Union flag, before being detained by officers after refusing to leave.
Pictures show angry demonstrators arguing with police and attempting to block a van,
Three people have been arrested, two men and a woman, and remain in police custody. Essex Police said the woman was arrested on suspicion of breaching a Section 14 order, which set out specific areas where the protest could take place.
They added that her arrest was “categorically not for flying the Union flag” as some people had suggested.
The protesters had initially gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has become an epicentre for anti-migrant debates after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month. He has denied the charges.
Anti-immigration protesters stood behind metal barriers across the road from the Bell Hotel, holding Union flags and waving at passing cars that sounded their horns. Police officers watched on, with more waiting in vans in surrounding roads.
Essex Police warned that any protest must end by 8pm and must not block the road. Section 60AA and dispersal orders also prevented people concealing from their identity with masks and allowed officers to direct protesters where to leave.
Tensions were further stoked after the government won a court challenge which means asylum seekers can continue to be housed at the Bell Hotel on Friday.
This follows a ruling last week which saw the local council granted an interim injunction which would have stopped 138 asylum seekers from being housed there after the authority claimed that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using the Bell as accommodation for asylum seekers.
Epping Forest District Council is set to decide on Monday whether to take its battle over the Bell Hotel to the Supreme Court.
The UK has seen numerous protests as the government is facing mounting pressure to respond to a surge in small boats crossing the English Channel and end the use of hotels to temporarily house asylum seekers..
Protests have taken place in Newcastle, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Gloucester, London and Essex so far this weekend, with five arrests made in west London relating to disorder after two anti-asylum groups marched to the Crowne Plaza hotel in West Drayton.
The Met Police said that a group of masked men attempted to enter the hotel via the rear entrance, while a breakaway protest group moved towards the nearby Novotel on Cherry Lane and towards the Holiday Inn. Officers had already been in place at the scene, with two suffering minor injuries.
Commander Adam Slonecki, in charge of policing London this weekend, said on Sunday - following the Canary Wharf arrests: “This afternoon we have unfortunately seen more disorder, following the five arrests made yesterday in the West Drayton area.
“We had plenty of officers on the ground who moved in swiftly to deal with the criminality that occurred inside and outside the shopping centre. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.
“Today’s protest saw many community members attend, including women and children, and we worked to ensure the safety of those there to peacefully represent their views. Those who arrive at protests masked and intent on causing trouble will continue to be dealt with robustly at future protests.
“We remain in the area to deter any further disorder and provide reassurance to local residents and businesses.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has accused Reform UK of stoking tensions over asylum hotels as protests continue.
She said “whipping up anger” serves the political interests of Nigel Farage’s party, to which deputy Reform UK leader Richard Tice responded it is “ridiculous” to suggest the party supports anything other than lawful, peaceful protests.
