Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow of the Essex Police stated in a statement, “We are disappointed to see yet another protest, which started peacefully, turn into mindless thuggery with individuals once again hurting one of our officers and damaging a police vehicle.” Anyone who believes that their thuggery would be accepted should reconsider.
The demonstrations take place as tensions rise over the growing number of asylum seekers being held in hotels across the nation at government cost. Following the arrest of two teenagers on suspicion of sexual assault, such tensions erupted into days of violence in Northern Ireland last month.
Last summer, when social media users disseminated false information about the identity of the attacker who killed three young girls at a dance class in the northwest town of Southport, violent anti-immigrant rallies swept the United Kingdom. Instead of being an asylum seeker as had been suggested, the attacker was a 17-year-old who was born in the United Kingdom to Rwandan parents.
While police stepped in to quell the violence and accelerated the punishment of those found guilty of participating, Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced last year’s riots as far-right thuggery.
Local police were given permission to make protesters take off their face coverings before to Sunday’s demonstrations in Epping. The protesters were then told to vacate the vicinity of the hotel. The dispersal order was in force until Monday at 4 a.m.
The protest followed a nonviolent protest outside the hotel that turned violent on Thursday, injuring eight police officers. Police attributed the violence on outsiders who came to the site with the intention of starting a fight.
According to authorities, four of the people arrested on Sunday were involved in the events of the first demonstration. The sixth was arrested for having the means to do criminal damage, and the fifth was arrested on suspicion of inflicting criminal damage to a police vehicle.
A 38-year-old asylum seeker was accused of sexual assault after reportedly trying to kiss a 14-year-old girl, which sparked the demonstrations. The individual made his initial court appearance on July 10 and is currently being jailed without bail. He refutes the accusations.
Simply put, Anslow stated, “We don’t take sides, we arrest criminals, and we have a duty to ensure no one is hurt.” I’m confident that Essex residents are aware of our values and won’t accept the nonsense that is going around the internet, which is only meant to exacerbate tensions and cause conflict.
Although the Epping Forest District Council, which oversees local government operations in the region, denounced the violence, it stated that it had long opposed the central government’s plan to lodge asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel.
In a statement released last week, council leader Chris Whitbread stated, “We have repeatedly expressed concerns to the Home Office that the Bell Hotel is a completely inappropriate location for this facility and should close.” We are happy that our local MPs are now actively supporting our call for the site to be closed immediately, and we will continue to put pressure on Home Office authorities to do so.
Thanks to AP
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