LONDON

Councils across England are preparing legal challenges to prevent asylum seekers from being accommodated in hotels, following a landmark court ruling in Essex, southeast England.

The High Court granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction on Tuesday blocking asylum seekers from staying at The Bell Hotel in the area.

The ruling came after protests outside the Bell Hotel escalated earlier this year. Demonstrations by both opponents and supporters of asylum seekers occasionally turned violent, with Essex Police charging 16 people over related disturbances.

The council had argued the site posed a public safety risk and breached planning laws.

All 10 local authorities controlled by the Reform UK party will "do everything in their power to follow Epping's lead," party leader Nigel Farage said.

Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire, run by the Conservative Party, has also confirmed that it is seeking urgent legal advice on a hotel in Cheshunt.

Writing in the Telegraph, Farage urged those "concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels" to "follow the example of the town in Essex" through peaceful protest.

Dan Jarvis, the state minister for security, told the BBC that the government had "never thought that hotels were an appropriate source of accommodation for asylum seekers" and was exploring "contingency options" for relocating those currently housed in Epping.

He added that councils could decide whether to mount legal challenges but noted that Epping’s case involved "quite specific circumstances."

Local tensions intensified when an asylum seeker at the Bell hotel was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had urged the court to dismiss Epping Forest District Council’s case, but the judge sided with the local authority.

Council leader Chris Whitbread described the injunction as "great news" but cautioned residents against protesting or "over-celebrating," warning that tensions risked "irreparable harm."