LONDON: The British government won a court ruling on Friday that me­­ans asylum seekers will not have to be evicted from a hotel where a resident was charged with sexual assault, a decision that could ignite more protests and criticism from opponents.

Immigration has now become the dominant political issue in Britain, eclipsing concerns over a faltering economy, as the country faces a record number of asylum claims and arrivals by migrants in small boats across the Channel, including more than 28,000 this year.

Last week, London’s High Court granted an injunction to stop asylum seekers being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 30 km northeast of the capital, which had become a focal point of sometimes violent demonstrations after an Eth­iopian asylum seeker living there was charged with sexual offences.

But on Friday, the Court of Appeal upheld the government’s appeal against that ruling, which had been made on planning gro­unds, and lifted the tem­­porary injunction whi­ch would have led to the asylum seekers being evicted.

While the court victory will ease the headache of immediate, widespread hot­­­­el closures, it opens up Prime Minister Keir Sta­rmer and his ministers to accusations from his main political opponents that he is siding with asylum seekers over the fears of locals.

“Keir Starmer has shown that he puts the rights of illegal immig­r­a­nts above the rights of British people who just want to feel safe in their towns and communities,” Kemi Badenoch, the lea­der of Conservative Party, said.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025