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Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a controversial migrant hotel as police launched a huge operation to stop the event once again spilling over into violence.
Protesters in Epping marched from The Bell Hotel to the local council building where a debate was being held over the future of two establishments that have been used to house asylum seekers.
As protests raged outside, councillors in Epping unanimously voted to urge the govenrment to close The Bell Hotel and The Phoenix Hotel.
A person was arrested for breaching an order in place that prevents anyone from wearing a face covering, Essex Police said.
A total of 16 arrests were made following a protest outside the same hotel last week.
The Bell Hotel has become the focus of anger against migrants after one of its guests was charged with sexually assaulting two teenage girls just days after arriving in Britain.
News spread quickly on social media and Epping has endured several protests in the last fortnight, with the event on July 17 descending into violence as rioters jumped up on down on the roof of a police van and thugs smashed their windows.
This afternoon metal fencing was delivered to the beleaguered Bell Hotel on the back of a flatbed truck, in a seeming drive to beef up the building’s defences.
Protesters marched from The Bell to Epping Forest District Council, where a meeting is taking place to discuss a motion calling for the immediate and permanent closure of the Bell Hotel and Phoenix Hotel
Police stand guard outside Epping Forest District Council offices
Police give an escort to protesters marching through Epping as they aim to avoid a repeat of the kind of unrest that happened during a previous protest on July 17
A large number of protesters braved the rain as people release flares in Union Jack colours while police watch on
Police in riot gear were spotted forming a barrier around The Bell, lining both sides of the road, with a canine team also present.
Protesters marched from The Bell to Epping Forest District Council, which closed early today due to the protest.
A message on the council’s website read: ‘Due to potential travel disruptions related to the planned demonstration at the Bell Hotel in Epping this evening, the Civic Offices will close at 4pm today to help staff and visitors travel home and reduce congestion in Epping High Street and surrounding areas.
‘Please use our website to access a range of online services. We will be open as usual tomorrow morning, Friday 25 July 2025.’
At 7pm councillors began a meeting to discuss a motion calling for the immediate and permanent closure of the Bell Hotel and Phoenix Hotel.
The later was reportedly the target of an alleged arson attack on March 28. It is believed the meeting to close the two hotel’s pre-dated the protests this month.
A dispersal order was also issed by police in Epping following the demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel earlier this month.
The order, which is in place from 2pm on Thursday until 8am Friday, covers an area including the town centre and transport hubs such as the Underground station.
Police said there would be a ban on anyone wearing face coverings under Section 60aa of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, with anyone obscuring their face facing arrest.
Officers line the streets outside Epping Forest District Council where protesters are set to converge
Protesters walk along the road holding handmade placards and a flag
Three protesters hold signs reading ‘Protect our kids’
A protest holds a St George’s Flag with a written slogan that reads ‘The only way is Epping’
Police officers line the pavement by one of the protest zones
Protesters wrapped in English flags speak to police at one of the designated protest areas outside The Bell Hotel
A line of police officers stands inside the protective fence in a bid to protect The Bell Hotel from protestors
A van driven by protestors, sporting a giant sign reading ‘Protect our kids’
A police officer watches over protestors in front of an English flag reading ‘The Only Way is Epping’
Another sign tied to the metal barriers surrounding the perimeters of the hotel reads ‘Shut this migrant hotel down’
One of the Epping protestors wears a t-shirt that reads ‘Close The Bell Hotel, Save Our Kids’
Metal fencing was delivered to the migrant hotel in Epping this morning as it tries to bolster defences
Police have issued a dispersal order in Epping following previous demonstrations outside The Bell hotel earlier this month. The order, which is in place from 2pm today until 8am tomorrow, covers an area including the town centre and transport hubs such as the Underground station
The Bell Hotel in Epping, which has housed migrants on and off for the last five years, has become a hotspot for protests against asylum seekers
Officers have also created designated sites for protestors opposite The Bell Hotel which have their own designated entry and exit routes.
There will also be designated sites close to the Civic Centre, where the council is based, but police warned that protestors will not be able to return to The Bell Hotel.
A curfew is also in place, with all ‘protest activity’ ordered to cease by 10pm on Thursday 24 July 2025.
Since the disorder began earlier this month, protests have spread to other parts of the country, with more than 150 gathering outside The Park Hotel, in Diss, Norfolk on Monday after the Home Office announced plans to change it from housing asylum-seeker families to single men.
Ethiopian aslyum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences only days after arriving on these shores.
He was arrested by officers on July 8 after reports of a man acting inappropriately towards a number of people.
Kebatu appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 10 July and denied all offences.
On July 17 Kebatu was charged with three counts of sexual assault, as well as one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
Lindsey, 58, said: ‘I’ve been in Epping for 17 years and my daughter goes to the school behind here (the hotel) and also the same school where the poor girl was attacked.
‘We have been uncomfortable. There are 140 men who are there. This is a small town, people talk and hear stuff all the time. In big cities those things can get flushed away and airbrushed out but here we hear more.
‘And we are terrified. Ive been here everyday and we are just mums in sundresses, facing up against police in masks and weapons.
‘At this point the hotel needs to be closed. And the people sent somewhere where they are not free to roam around before they can be vetted.
‘People think this is only about racism but it has nothing to do with race. You can be whatever colour, they could be Scottish people in there but until we know who is in our town they are not welcome. They must be vetted.’
Hazel, who has lived in Epping for 21 years, said: ‘I want them out. It’s just ridiculous. I have grandchildren. I have a 10-year-old grandson.
A map provided by Essex Police showing the Section 60 AA Area inside which anyone wearing face coverings faces arrest
A graphic showing the designated zones for use by anti-hotel protestors and counter-protesters outside The Bell Hotel, where the march began
A graphic showing the designated zones for use by anti-hotel protestors and counter-protesters outside the Civic Centre where the council meeting took place
A protestors jumps up and down on the roof of a police van at a protest on July 17 outside The Bell Hotel
Anti-immigration protestors attacked police vans during the protest on July 17
‘Its absolutely vile what’s happening – you can just see what happened to that girl. It’s happening all over the country.
‘They are coming over by the thousands on boats and they are all young men.
‘There must be an agenda with the government to keep them there. They need to stop it now. I hope we are listened to.
‘I hope they remove them and don’t place them in another community. Send them back.’
Becci, 41, who has lived in Epping for five years, compared her struggle to get on the council housing list with the process for finding accommodation for migrants.
She said: ‘No disrespect to them I cant even get on the council list and I’m paying rent that’s extortionate.
‘But if I come here from France on a boat, on a dinghy, I get put in a hotel, I mean look at Canary Wharf. We can’t even afford a night out there, it’s crazy.
‘It’s the government doing this to us. I would still be doing this if they were all white. I dont care if you are pink, blue or green, I would still be doing this. It’s not that at all.
‘I have seen them coming and going and they aren’t nice people. It doesn’t feel safe, you are scared of everything, I don’t even want to take my kids to the park. They get all of this for nothing and they treat it like it’s nothing.’
The council voted unanimously to close The Bell Hotel and Phoenix Hotel immediately.
Speaking at a tense council meeting, Reform UK’s Jaymey McIvor said: ‘It is a real shame that more members from this chamber couldn’t be at the protests in person.
‘The people of Epping are worried, they are scared, and they want to know they are being listened to.
‘I’ve can’t solve this problem, none of us can, this is years and years of mismanagement of our country’s borders which has necessitated the use of hotels to accomodate unvetted men. This is about women’s safety.
Cllr McIvor condemened the assaults and criminal damage that broke out on July 17, but said it was insulting to suggest all the Epping residents who attended the protests were ‘far-right thugs’.
‘Violence against police officers is unacceptable, violence against anybody is unacceptable, damaging public property or forcing local businesses to close is unacceptable.
‘I don’t support the notion that all the mums and business owners are far-right thugs. I will call out the far-left thuggery which was bussed to The Bell Hotel and caused undue agitation.’
The claim that far-left counter-protesters were ‘bussed’ to the July 17 protest by Essex Police was made by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Farage said in a post on X: ‘This video proves Essex Police transported left-wing protesters to the Bell Hotel in Epping.’
However, Essex Police emphatically denied the claim on Wednesday.
Chief Council of Essex, BJ Harrington said: ‘What has been unacceptable has been the people who have come to Epping and committed violence.
‘Who have attacked people who work at the hotel- who have attacked officers, who have damaged property and who have caused fear and disruption to the people of Epping.’
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: ‘Officers did provide a foot cordon around protesters on their way to the protest, where they and others were allowed to exercise their right to protest.
‘Later, some people who were clearly at risk of being hurt were also escorted by vehicle away from the area for their safety.
‘To reiterate, we categorically did not drive any counter-protesters to the site on any occasion.’
Speaking outside the council meeting, local resident Justin Bird, 56, said ‘For the past four years they (migrants) have been harrassing the young girls that come out of school.
People just feel unsafe, not so much me but my wife and the girls feel uneasy so that’s how its impacted the community.
He added: ‘Aggression and violence gets you nowhere but hopefully it sparks everyone to stand up.’
Steve, 57, added: ‘The country’s gone bankrupt and the government is facilitating this.’
