18 h. ago Labour minister insists the rights of Bell hotel asylum seekers trump those of families in Epping

Sir Keir Starmer could soon bleed voters after the Government won a controversial court victory allowing asylum seekers to stay at The Bell Hotel in Epping.

Politics

22 h. ago ‘It is about a balance of rights’ Education secretary on community concerns in Epping

Bridget Phillipson was repeatedly asked wether she believed the rights of asylum seekers were more important than the interests of local communities.

Politics

23 h. ago Labour minister insists the rights of Bell hotel asylum seekers are more important than families in Epping

Sir Keir Starmer could soon bleed voters after the Government won a controversial court victory allowing asylum seekers to stay at The Bell Hotel in Epping.

Politics

27 h. ago How do you legally claim asylum in the UK? For most refugees, it's impossible

Asylum is a legal right, a human right, but without safe routes it is a hollow promise, writes Robina Qureshi. Ukrainians were welcomed; Palestinians — like so many others — are caught in a bureaucratic siege of red tape and bombardment.

Events

50 h. ago Ordinary people outside hotels raging at ordinary people inside them: that’s the tragedy of this refugee controversy | Rowan Williams

Anyone who has met refugees sees the ordinariness of their hopes and dreams. If we reject their humanity, how can we be proud of ourselves?No one in their right mind thinks accommodating asylum seekers in hotels is a good idea. No one in their right mind thinks we should just live with undocumented, life-threatening migration routes into the UK. And no one in their right mind thinks the experiences endured by most migrants could be a rational choice for anyone. Forget for a moment the ludicrous, inflammatory posturing of many who should know better; we ought to be able to begin from these shared acknowledgments.Using hotels for housing vulnerable migrants is the equivalent of what prison reform campaigners have long called warehousing – make sure a problematic group is simply corralled somewhere more or less secure, and hope their issues will somehow sort themselves out. The chaos and under-resourcing of the legal processes involved and the shocking levels of delay mean that the con...

Politics

56 h. ago Being told the human rights of asylum seekers trump those of residents will haunt Labour: SIR MICHAEL ELLIS

The Home Secretary may today be celebrating after the Court of Appeal ruling 140 male asylum seekers can remain at the Epping hotel at the centre of anti-immigrant protests (pictured).

Politics

64 h. ago 'Illegal migrants have more rights than the people of Essex': Fury grows after judge rules asylum seekers can stay at Epping migrant hotel

The Home Office and Somani Hotels, which owns the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, today successfully overturned a High Court ruling ordering them to remove all 138 residents.

Events

3 d. ago Rights of asylum seekers trump local Epping residents, Home Office argues as it appeals decision to shut migrant hotel

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper 's bid to appeal against a court ruling blocking asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping began at the Court of Appeal this morning.

Society

4 d. ago The Guardian view on UK attitudes to Europe: Labour is following where it could be leading | Editorial

There are signs of ministerial courage in making the case for closer ties to our neighbours, but the government could go further and fasterBritain’s relationship with the European Union was not a prominent issue in national debate when Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister, and Downing Street has striven to keep it that way. Labour strategists have seen Europe as a fissile topic, and Sir Keir’s opposition to Brexit in the 2016 referendum as a liability with swing voters. The prime minister has moved Britain closer to Europe, but in timid increments. The summit that formally “reset” relations early this year was long on statements of ambition, but short on substance. The government’s private recognition that economic logics impel Britain back into a European orbit has been in constant tension with fear of making that case in public.The balance now appears to be shifting. In a speech on Wednesday, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister responsible for EU relations, made the...

Politics

5 d. ago ‘There needs to be justice,’ UN tells Israel after Gaza hospital bombing

Human rights office demands that Israeli investigation into ‘double tap’ attack that killed 20 people yields resultsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UN has demanded that Israel’s investigations into unlawful killings in Gaza, including its “double tap” bombing of Nasser hospital which killed 20 people, among them five journalists, yield results and ensure accountability.“There needs to be justice,” Thameen Al-Kheetan, the spokesperson for the UN’s human rights office, told reporters on Tuesday in Geneva. He added that the number of journalists killed in Gaza raised many questions about the targeting of media workers. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Germany's chancellor set to strip failed asylum seekers of access to lawyers in new anti

Germany is set to strip rejected asylum seekers of their automatic right to a lawyer in a bid to speed up deportations. 

Events

9 d. ago Women working for refugee charities facing ‘disgusting’ sexual comments from far

Charities have warned staff not to wear lanyards and ID badges, and have had to provide workers with additional security

Events

1 week ago Fresh wave of asylum hotel protests expected after Epping ruling

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said that people have ‘every right’ to protest over asylum hotels in their areas.

Events

1 week ago People have ‘every right’ to protest asylum hotels – shadow home secretary

Conservative-led councils in Hertfordshire, Surrey and London are considering taking legal action against hoteliers, he said.

Society

1 week ago I'm a legal refugee in Britain. So why am I always being treated like a criminal? | Ayman Alhussein

I’ve met wonderful people here who make me feel that I belong – but there are now many who see asylum seekers as an easy political targetHardly a day goes by without a new insult being hurled in the faces of asylum seekers and refugees. We’re scroungers, rapists, fighting-age men who shouldn’t have left our home countries. Sometimes we’re simply “illegals”, the most dehumanising term of all. When did it become a crime to run for your life?The people levelling these accusations are superb at making themselves heard. Mud sticks – and most of us are too scared to try to set the record straight. I don’t know how many of our accusers have sat down with us, human to human, and listened to our stories. Here’s mine.As told to Diane TaylorAyman Alhussein is a Syrian film-maker based in London Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Explained: How much is the government paying to house asylum seekers in hotels?

With protests against the use of migrant hotels spreading across the country, there are fears that anger is being stoked by misinformation

Politics

1 week ago Epping migrant hotel is set to CLOSE as council wins legal battle following weeks of anarchy after resident was charged with sexual assault

Council leaders won the first stage of their battle close the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on planning permission grounds after it became an epicentre of anti-immigration protests.

Events

1 week ago Epping migrant hotel set to CLOSE after council wins legal battle for temporary injunction, despite Home Office claiming it would breach asylum seekers' human rights

Council leaders won the first stage of their battle close the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on planning permission grounds after it became an epicentre of anti-immigration protests.

Events

2 w. ago Starmer under new pressure over migrants after 700 protestors stage angry demo at Scots asylum hotel that housed rapist

Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faced mounting pressure over the housing of illegal immigrants last night after 700 people were involved in angry clashes outside a migrant hotel in Scotland.

Events

2 w. ago Palestine Action prosecutions should be suspended, say UK rights groups

Campaigners tell attorney general that proceeding with trials before judicial review raises legal and moral questionsUK politics live – latest updatesProtesters arrested for supporting Palestine Action should not be prosecuted until a legal challenge to a ban on the group has been heard, organisations including Greenpeace and Human Rights Watch have told the attorney general for England and Wales.In a letter to Richard Hermer KC, also signed by Friends of the Earth, Global Witness and the Quakers, they say proceeding with charges or trials before the judicial review, which is expected to be heard in November, would raise significant legal and moral questions. Continue reading...

Politics