A GRINNING migrant was caught on camera giving protesters the finger just hours after the controversial Epping hotel ruling.
The young man appeared at the window of the Roundhouse hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, to grin at the crowd of demonstrators outside.
A migrant seeker was seen giving anti-immigration protesters the finger in Bournemouth
BNPSProtestors outside The Roundhouse hotel last night[/caption]
BNPSDemonstrations have been triggered across the country following the recent Epping ruling[/caption]
BNPSFamilies came to protest outside the migrant hotel[/caption]
He then raised his middle finger at them before being led away.
Outside a group of about 200 anti-immigration protesters staged a peaceful demonstration calling for the Roundhouse, along with two other migrant hotels in Bournemouth, to close.
Pink Ladies members stepped out near The Roundhouse yesterday evening, waving flags and dressed in bright colours.
The crowd also included families with no violence erupting during the protest.
Among them was mother Sheila Booth, who said: “I’m raging. Absolutely raging.
“Many people, many millions of people, will feel angered like myself. The government are not listening to us.
“They don’t care about British citizens. They’re more concerned with providing for illegal immigrants that have come across the channel on a boat.”
Marianne Roscoe-Hudson said: “We have a focus here, in Bournemouth, there’s three hotels, full of immigrants and it’s not right.”
As well as the Roundhouse, the Britannia Hotel on the same road and the nearby The Chine hotel have been closed to the public for the exclusive use of asylum seekers for the past two years.
Locals claim that people, especially young women, feel scared to go into the town at night because of the rise in migrant hotels.
It comes as chaos unfolded at anti-migrant protests last night as cops made three arrests outside the Bell Hotel.
The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, has been at the centre of protests after two of its guests were charged with sexual offences.
Epping Forest District Council last week won a bid at the High Court to block migrants from being housed at the hotel.
The temporary injunction meant that the building has to be cleared of its occupants by September 12.
It also caused a ripple effect across the UK as more councils launched their own bids to boot migrants out of hotels in their towns.
But unrest was triggered across the country after a ruling to boot migrants out of the Epping hotel was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Protesters gathered in Epping yesterday after locals blasted the decision to keep migrants in the Bell Hotel as “absolutely disgusting”.
Essex Police have detained three people amid the clash, which saw two officers injured.
One man arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, while another was taken into custody on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
A third was taken in on suspicion of drink driving after they swerved onto wrong side of the road, towards a police cordon.
Starmer’s joy at hotel ruling won’t last – Farage will land more crushing blows – ANALYSIS
By Ryan Sabey
Sir Keir Starmer may well take a sip on a cold drink at the end of his summer holiday today after winning the Court of Appeal hearing.
But any delight from the Prime Minister’s will be extremely short-lived as he works through the practical ramifications of the controversial asylum hotel staying open.
Sir Keir and his Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have got through this legal battle but the knock-on effects are now huge.
The crux of the problems for the government are that they wanted to keep the Bell Hotel in Epping OPEN when so much noise has been created about CLOSING them.
Political opponents such as senior Tory Robert Jenrick hit out at Ms Cooper saying taxpayer money was used for this appeal.
He says this Labour government are on the side of illegal migrants who have broken into the country. Ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe simply says Ministers must deport the illegal migrants.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch was also quickly out to react against the ruling saying it pits the rights of illegal migrants against the people who are seeing their communities ruined.
She also urges Tory councils up and down the country to “keep going” if they seek similar injunctions to close asylum hotels.
She pointedly adds in her response to the ruling: “The public can see exactly who is fighting to keep these hotels open. It’s Labour.”
The legal action will appear bizarrely to many to be in sheer contrast to the long-term plan to actually close these hotels, which are costing around £5 million per day.
Ms Cooper as part of the government appeal even used the European Convention of Human Rights to say she has an obligation not to kick migrants on the streets.
It’s all so messy when we’ve had a string of Labour MPs followed by party grandees including Lord Blunkett and Jack Straw questioning why we abide by Strasbourg rules.
The ruling, by three Court of Appeal judges, will only raise tensions with local communities who want to see hotels that are blighting communities closed.
Despite the pledge to close them, the public have yet to see alternative accommodation that will be provided to house thousands of migrants.
One person who will immediately take advantage of the ruling is Reform UK Nigel Farage. Look at the difference between his positioning and that of the PM.
On Tuesday this week, Mr Farage spelled out his plans to detain and deport thousands of migrants sending them on their way of deportation flight after deportation flight.
He will simply point at the PM and tell his growing legion of supporters that the PM wants the opposite of them.
The government wants to close these hotels step by step in a measured, practical way.
For the public, time and patience with the PM to deal with illegal immigration and the Channel small boats problem is running out. And running out quick.
Perhaps the PM will want to pour another drink before he heads back to Britain.
Elsewhere, footage taken in outside the Delta Marriot hotel in Chestnut, Hertfordshire, tonight showed crowds being held back by officers as they try to break through barriers.
One copper could be seen pushing a riled demonstrator back by the neck.
Similar scenes took place outside The Highfield house hotel in Southampton.
A Union Jack flag was tied onto one of the hotel signs, while crowds chanted “stop the boats, take them home”.
In Epping, residents earlier blasted the decision to keep migrants in the Bell Hotel as “absolutely disgusting”.
Angie Claire, 56, who has five grandchildren aged under seven, is protesting outside the building this evening.
She told the Sun: “I think it’s absolutely disgusting for the safety of the children in the area.
“There’s been nothing but trouble and I think it’s going to cause more problems with the general public that live here as well.”
The Government has won for now – but what happens next?
THE government may have won today’s battle but does it mean they have won the war?
It needs to be remembered that the original order was a temporary one – although it did mean migrants in the Bell Hotel would have to pack up by September 12.
The case was set to return to court in October to lay out the next steps for a potential final injunction.
This would have had a far-reaching impact on councils across Britain had the order become permanent.
But the Court of Appeal’s ruling today may effectively have put an end to the Bell Hotel saga – and even potentially the controversy surrounding migrant hotels, at least from a legal standpoint.
It seems unlikely that other councils will follow through on their own plans to hold the hotel owners – and the government – to account and get migrants in their towns and cities booted out.
Defeated Epping Council today vowed to plough ahead with the October hearing but only if “that’s still possible”.
If the case does not go ahead – or does and they lose again – the ruling could only really change now if Epping launch an appeal bid to the Supreme Court.
However this seems unlikely given the damning nature of today’s decision.
For now, it appears the migrants at the Bell Hotel will be staying put.
It is also likely to heighten tensions after the Home Office argued the human rights of asylum seekers trump those of Epping Council and, by extension, the residents they are elected to serve.
But the case is far from over – with a further hearing to come in October still after Epping Council accused the hotel of operating unlawfully.
More than a dozen councils are still poised to take legal action to shut asylum hotels despite the ruling.
These include at least four Labour-run authorities, such as Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor councils.
Epping Council brought the case to court claiming Somani Hotels breached planning rules as the site is not being used for its intended purpose as a hotel.
Philip Coppel KC, for the council, said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of The Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.
“It is a problem that is causing great local anxiety.”
But barristers for the company said the “draconian” move would cause “hardship” for those inside the hotel.
They also argued “political views” were not grounds for an injunction and that contracts to house asylum seekers were a “financial lifeline”.
The hotel previously housed migrants from May 2020 to March 2021, then from October 2022 to April 2024.
BNPSCops were at the hotel in Dorset but no violence erupted[/caption]
LNPProtesters push past a barrier outside The Delta Marriott Hotel last night[/caption]
A protestor was knocked to the ground in Epping last night Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
