UK police arrest 6 after protesters descend on a hotel housing asylum seekers

LONDON (AP) — A town on the outskirts of London was rocked by protesters who descended on a hotel housing asylum seekers for the second time in four days on Sunday night, amid anger about a migrant accused of sexual assault.

Police in the town of Epping said they arrested six people on Sunday, including four suspected of involvement in “violent disorder” during the previous demonstration on Thursday. Officers patrolled the area around the Bell Hotel throughout the night after issuing an order for the crowds to disperse.

Chanting “Save our kids” and “Send them home,” more than 100 demonstrators, some brandishing British flags, gathered outside the hotel Sunday evening. The protests escalated as night fell, with flares and projectiles thrown toward police vans blocking the entrance. Police escorted a counter-protester from the area after demonstrators surrounded her.

“Disappointingly we have seen yet another protest, which begun peacefully, escalate into mindless thuggery with individuals again hurting one of our officers and damaging a police vehicle,″ Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow of the Essex Police said in a statement. “For anyone who thinks we will tolerate their thuggery — think again.’‘

The protests come amid escalating tensions over the rising number of asylum seekers who are being housed at government expense in hotels around the country. Those pressures flared into days of rioting last month in Northern Ireland after two teenagers were arrested on charges of sexual assault.

Violent anti-immigrant protests spread throughout the U.K. last summer after social media users spread misinformation about the identity of the person who attacked a dance class in the northwestern town of Southport, killing three young girls. The attacker was a 17-year-old who was born in the U.K. born in the U.K. to parents from Rwanda, not an asylum seeker as had been rumored.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned last year’s riots as “far-right thuggery” as police intervened to stop the violence and expedited the sentencing of those convicted of taking part.

Before Sunday’s protests in Epping, local police issued an order that allowed them to force demonstrators to remove face coverings. The later issued an order for the demonstrators to leave the area around the hotel. That dispersal order remained in effect until 4 a.m. Monday.

The demonstration came after eight police officers were injured on Thursday after a peaceful protest outside the hotel escalated into violence. Police blamed the violence on people from outside the community who “arrived at the scene intent on causing trouble.”

Four of those detained on Sunday were arrested in connection with events that happened during the initial protest, police said. A fifth was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a police car, while the sixth was arrested for being equipped to cause criminal damage.

The protests began after a 38-year-old asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault after allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. The man is being held without bail after he had his first court appearance on July 10. He denies the charges.

“We don’t take sides, we arrest criminals and we have a duty to ensure no-one is hurt — plain and simple,″ Anslow said. “I know the people of Essex know what we’re about so I know they won’t believe the rubbish circulating online that is designed to do nothing more than inflame tensions and trouble.’’

Epping Forest District Council, which provides local government services in the area, condemned the violence but said it had long opposed the central government’s decision to use the Bell Hotel to house asylum seekers.

“We have consistently shared concerns with the Home Office that the Bell Hotel is an entirely unsuitable location for this facility and should close,” council Leader Chris Whitbread said in a statement last week. “We continue to press Home Office officials for the immediate closure of the site and are encouraged that our local MPs are now actively supporting our call.”