The father of a girl allegedly assaulted by an asylum seeker has accused the Government of putting children at risk. He said it wasn’t fair the Government was putting children and grandchildren in danger. In a message read at a meeting of Epping Forest District Council by Councillor Shane Yerrell, the dad added: “I do not want or condone any of the violence that has taken place at the protests – that’s not what we’re about and that’s not what we’re trying to achieve – it’s only going to make things go the other way.
“I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we are feeling right now.”
Demonstrations have been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping since July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, denied the charge of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court. He will stand trial in August.
Epping Forest District Council passed a motion on Thursday calling on the Government “to immediately and permanently close” the hotel “for the purposes of asylum processing”. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the motion.
Speakers at the meeting criticised the disorder which has erupted at some of the protests, and the reported attendance of members of the far right. They also raised concerns that the hotel is close to a school.
Councillor Jon Whitehouse said the people of Epping “can fight their own battles and want their Thursdays and Sundays back”.
He said: “I’m appalled it’s been necessary for (the police) to arrive in Epping in such volume and such force because of the violence and the intimidation that we’ve experienced here.
“Facilitating passionate, lawful protest is a difficult and an important task – it’s made more difficult when those with no interest in the community of Epping choose to exploit those concerns, exploit the victims of crime and awful experiences for their own warped ends.
“If you’re here to stir up violence and confrontation in the surge of warped ideology – or maybe for some social media clicks – we don’t want you and we don’t need you.”
A protest last Thursday (July 17) began peacefully but escalated into what officers described as “scattered incidents of violence” targeting police and property. Another protest was held outside the venue for the council meeting last night.
Essex Police previously said a small number of people used that demonstration as cover to commit violent disorder and criminal damage. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged as missiles were thrown.
The protest has drawn national attention and sparked a political row, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington to resign over claims officers transported left-wing protesters to the scene, claims the Essex Police chief has denied.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said on Thursday (July 24): “I want to thank all those who protested peacefully this evening.
“We put a number of measures in place to ensure you could express your democratic right peacefully, lawfully, and safely.
“As I have consistently said, we will not tolerate anyone who believes they can come here to commit crime and disorder. If you think you can, we will deal with you.
“We had robust plans in place this evening to ensure people could demonstrate peacefully and to ensure they, and the wider community, are kept safe.”