- Three men were arrested in Epping after police officers sustained injuries during a protest outside The Bell Hotel, which is being used to house asylum seekers.
- The protest on Friday occurred after the Government won a court challenge, allowing asylum seekers to continue being accommodated at the Essex hotel.
- Arrests included one man for violent disorder, another for assaulting a police officer, and a third for drink driving after a car was driven towards a police cordon.
- Essex Police confirmed the arrests and implemented a dispersal order, with Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin stating that while protest is a democratic right, committing crime is not.
- The Bell Hotel has been a focal point for protests, partly due to an asylum seeker housed there being charged with sexual assault, while a similar situation affects a hotel in nearby Cheshunt.
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