Tensions flared in Essex on Sunday evening after a woman was arrested for unfurling a Union flag from the Epping Forest District Council building during a protest against the use of local hotels to house asylum seekers.
The unnamed woman, identified as one of the organisers of the Epping migrant hotel demonstrations, was pulled down from a first-floor ledge by police officers. Footage circulating online showed her holding the British flag before being removed, as onlookers shouted “she’s a woman” and “what are they doing?”
Police confirmed she was arrested on suspicion of breaching a Section 14 order, which had been put in place to restrict protests at the council premises. Two other individuals were also taken into custody during the demonstration.
The protests escalated just days after the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling allowing the Home Office to continue housing asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel in Epping. Around 200 demonstrators gathered outside the council building, voicing opposition to the government’s migrant accommodation strategy.
The incident highlights growing tensions in local communities over the use of hotels for asylum housing, an issue that has sparked nationwide protests, legal battles, and political debate across the UK.
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