Epping asylum hotel protests lead to further men being charged

Three more men have been charged after alleged violent disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.

Protests took place outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on Thursday and Sunday, where police officers were injured during clashes.

A 47-year-old and a 36-year-old man, both from the Epping Forest district, were charged with violent disorder on Tuesday, while a 34-year-old man from Wickford was accused of failing to remove a face covering.

They were due to appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August, Essex Police said.

Officers were granted extra power to force people to remove face coverings on Sunday.

Ch Supt Simon Anslow said: “We will not hesitate to make arrests when criminality takes place.”

It followed Waitrose worker Dean Smith, of Madells in Epping, appearing before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court earlier.

The 51-year-old entered no plea to a charge of using or threatening the use of unlawful violence, and was remanded in custody until the August hearing.

District Judge Christopher Williams was told of a WhatsApp group with 600 members who were planning to attend the hotel.

Hundreds of people gathered on Thursday, with a smaller group of people holding a pro-refugee demonstration at the same time.

The peaceful protests “quickly escalated” into violent disorder, prosecutor Elizabeth Connor told the court, with fireworks, eggs and bottles being thrown.

She said more than 100 police officers attended but became “overwhelmed” by the protest.

Ms Connor said Mr Smith attended the protest on Thursday and returned on Sunday, when he was arrested after being identified on several pieces of footage.

Defending Mr Smith, Richard Moughton said his client attended for a “peaceful protest”, and on the Thursday he returned home before a police dispersal order was put in place.

Another protest staged on Sunday was attended by more than 1,000 people, with projectiles thrown towards police vans blocking the hotel entrance.

Mr Smith was the second person to appear before magistrates in connection with protests at the hotel.

Keith Silk, 33, of Torrington Drive in Loughton, Essex, appeared before Southend Magistrates’ Court on Monday to deny violent disorder, but entered no plea to another charge of criminally damaging a sign at the hotel by shaking it.

He was released on conditional bail, forbidding him from entering Epping and attending any protest in the UK, and will also appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August.

The demonstrations followed a man living in the hotel being charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Hadush Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and was remanded in custody during a hearing on Thursday.

Two Conservative MPs in Essex – Neil Hudson and Alex Burghart – called for the hotel to be closed, while the Tory leader of Epping Forest District Council, Chris Whitbread, described it as a “powder keg” situation.