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Protests at a hotel in Essex housing asylum seekers “is a crisis that risks boiling over”, the local MP has said as pressure builds on the home secretary to close it down.
Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest, has signed a letter along with other local politicians urging Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to make The Bell Hotel a priority for urgent decommissioning.
Mr Hudson told Sky News that protests at the site have led to “deeply troubling and unsettling” scenes, with people coming from outside the area “not to support the real concerns of our local community, but to disrupt and cause violence”.
He said: “This is a crisis that risks boiling over, and for the safety of our community, the government must get a grip on this situation now, and they must listen and act quickly to close the hotel.”
The letter to the home secretary, which requests an urgent meeting, was also signed by neighbouring Conservative MP Alex Burghart, Epping Forest District Council leader Christopher Whitbread, leader of Essex County Council Kevin Bentley, and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex Roger Hirst.
It also expresses concerns about the use of the Phoenix Hotel in North Weald, in Mr Burghart’s Brentwood and Ongar constituency, to house asylum seekers, which has been subject to alleged arson attacks.
The letter said the sites are “proving to be entirely unsuitable” and “placing an unsustainable strain on police resources”.
They added that this is “creating significant community tension, and leading to public disorder that is unacceptable to our residents and deeply concerning for the safety of all involved”.
Multiple demonstrations have been held outside The Bell since 13 July after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, who…
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