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Three arrested after Epping hotel protesters march on council offices

Around 200 people gathered outside the Epping Forest District Council building where a woman climbed the steps and unfurled a Union flag.

By contributor George Lithgow and Rosie Shead, PA
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Supporting image for story: Three arrested after Epping hotel protesters march on council offices
Protesters gathered in Epping, Essex, on Sunday evening (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Three people have been arrested after protesters unhappy about a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping marched on the town’s council offices.

Around 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Epping Forest District Council building on Sunday evening, where a woman climbed the steps and unfurled a Union flag.

It comes after the Government won a court challenge on Friday, meaning 138 asylum seekers can continue to be housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town.

Two men and one woman were arrested following Sunday’s protest, according to Essex Police.

The force said the woman was arrested at the Civic Centre on suspicion of breaching a Section 14 order that was in place and strongly rejected suggestions she was arrested for flying a Union flag.

One man was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after an emblem was reported to have been set alight.

A protester is detained by police after hanging a Union flag from the civic offices, as protesters march in Epping, Essex
A protester detained by police in Epping (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

The arrest is related to an alleged incident on Friday, police said.

Another man was arrested for breaching the Section 14 order after refusing to leave when the protest had ended.

All three remain in custody, the force said on Sunday night.

Protesters outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex after a temporary injunction that would have blocked asylum seekers from being housed at the hotel, was overturned at the Court of Appeal
A temporary injunction that would have blocked asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel was overturned at the Court of Appeal (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Earlier in the evening, protesters stood behind metal barriers across the road from the Bell Hotel, waving at passing cars that sounded their horns.

Police officers watched on, with more waiting in vans in surrounding roads.

The Bell Hotel became the focal point of several demonstrations and counter-protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month. He has denied the charges.

Protesters marching in Epping, Essex
Protests continued across the country over the weekend (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said: “We know the strength of feeling in Epping regarding a very important issue.

“And to reiterate what we’ve repeatedly said, we always remain impartial – this is the role of policing.

“Turning next to the arrest of a woman shortly after 7.15pm tonight.

“She was arrested on suspicion of breaching a Section 14 order as we sought to de-escalate a highly emotional situation.

“To be very clear, despite suggestions we’ve seen on social media, she was not arrested for flying a Union flag on the Civic Centre.”

Officers issued one man with an order which required him to leave the area immediately and not return, according to the force.

The protest was required to end by 8pm and to not block the road, Essex Police said.

A Section 60AA order was put in place by police giving officers the power to order the removal of face coverings and a dispersal order is in place until 6am.