UK sets out overhaul of asylum appeals process as protests continue
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Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced an overhaul of the UK asylum appeals process to tackle “completely unacceptable delays”, against a backdrop of protests about the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
Cooper is under significant pressure to show she is addressing the backlog after a court ruling earlier this week against the use of a hotel in Essex for
Last Tuesday the High Court in London issued a temporary injunction to block asylum seekers from being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has been the focus of a number of protests since a man living at the hotel was charged with assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Ministers on Friday said they planned to appeal against the High Court ruling “so the closure of the Bell Hotel and all hotels can be done in a managed and orderly manner”.
But the decision — which was welcomed by Epping Forest district council — has prompted other local authorities around the country to say they will bring or will consider bringing similar actions.
Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has urged the heads of all 33 councils controlled by the Tories to “take the same steps if your legal advice supports it”.
Farage, meanwhile, has called for mass deportation of people who arrive in Britain in small boats, warning of a “massive crisis” in the UK.
The leader of Reform, which is ahead in national opinion polls, suggested they could initially be detained on disused RAF bases and — in the event agreements were reached — returned to countries including Afghanistan and Eritrea. Labour called the proposals “pie in the sky”.
