Fury as Labour reopens migrant hotel in UK town with locals scared to leave their homes

Asylum seekers living in a 3-star hotel in Essex have been accused of spitting at local residents, kicking their cars, chasing them around the streets, and stealing from local shops. The Bell Hotel in Epping was closed to illegal migrants by the last Conservative government, but in early April Labour reopened it-despite Sir Keir Starmer's pre-election promise to "smash the gangs" and stop Channel crossings.

Two residents that the Daily Express spoke to live on the same street as the 79-room hotel on the edge of north-east London, but neither wanted to be named for fear of "reprisals" from the hotel's security.

When our reporter approached security staff at the Bell they, like the Home Office, refused to confirm whether asylum seekers were living there.

However, both residents were adamant that the asylum seekers had returned, as were representatives from Epping Forest District Council (EFDC), and this newspaper saw multiple young men gathered in the garden of the hotel. One local resident, a 61-year-old mother-of-two, claimed that in May 2022 her car was kicked by the illegal migrants living there and that she and her family had been spat at by them.

"We were spat at a few times", she alleged. The former fire safety trainer also claimed that the asylum seekers had been physically violent towards her family's vehicle. Speaking from her garden, she said: "My son was driving and I was next to him, and we came out [of the shared drive] and all of a sudden I felt a bump and they kicked our car".

Since the hotel was reopened to asylum seekers in April 2025, she said that her 24-year-old son has had to stop running around the affluent Essex town, after he was followed by a mob "in excess of ten" during his training for the recent London Marathon. Describing the incident, she said: "He started running and he felt something hit him, and they were throwing things from behind him, so he went on the other side of the road and started running back... they were running [after him] and throwing things.

"It really perturbed him, he was shaken when he came back in. It's bizarre isn't it, someone who works in Liverpool Street feels comfortable running through Hoxton and all those areas and yet they're frightened to run [in Epping]".

The retired mum said she herself no longer feels safe to walk out of her front door and feels "totally" trapped.

"I would walk to the shops", she said. "I wouldn't do that now. Not even [in the] daytime. My door when I go in now will be locked, however warm it is."

She added that the family would move if they could, but a local estate agent has warned her that selling her home would be "financial suicide" because the asylum accomodation had decimated its value. She and her husband, a 63-year-old Green Grocer at London's famous Spitalfields Market, had spent £250,000 on home renovations, but have had to leave their property unfinished because they could not afford to "waste any more money".

An elderly neighbour shared the mum-of-two's concerns. "I can't even begin to tell you the sort of anxiety we felt at these people just around us all the time... [with] just a barrier between us and our drive", she said.

"I admit I don't come in after dark. I wouldn't have thought twice about it [in the past]".

The resident, who has lived in the property with her partner for 20 years, repeated her neighbour's claim that nobody from the Government let them know the hotel had been reactivated for asylum seekers. "We were not notified in any form that it was going to be reopened", she said.

Victor Wigzell, 74, a retired architectural model maker, claimed he saw asylum seekers from the Bell shoplifting from the local Boots store in early 2024.

"I used to see them go into Boots the chemist there and obviously they would grab the stuff and run out. I've seen it. I saw it happen. I was in Boots. I just thought well, you're trying to help these people, some of them probably do need help", he said.

The Epping resident, who has lived in the vicinity of the hotel for 24 years, added: "We don't want it, we don't need it, we shouldn't have to suffer all that".

In a separate incident on April 5 this year, shortly after asylum seekers returned to the Bell, a fire broke out and a man was charged with arson endangering life. On March 28, there was a fire at the Phoenix Hotel, five miles away from the Bell. Abdul Rahman, 36, was charged over both incidents. He appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on May 7, and was remanded in custody until his trial on September 22. There is no indication that Rahman is involved in any of the other alleged incidents reported in this article.

Former milkman Peter Eales, 75, blasted successive governments' handling of the asylum crisis. He said: "I think it's the governments and the opinions of the governments and what they do... that makes you resentful.

"I think it's a disgrace to the people who gave their lives in the Second World War... It just seems this country's for the foreigner now, than it is for the normal person."

Brian Saggers, 78, a retired carpenter, held a particular contempt for the current government's decision to re-open the asylum hotel, given their pre-election promise to "smash the gangs". He said: "I'm not very impressed about it, no." One woman, who wished not to be named, shared Mr Saggers' view, adding that Labour's vow to stop the Channel crossings was "absolute nonsense".

The allegations came as the prime minister's planned to reform the UK's immigration rules. Sir Keir told the media on May 12 that the UK risked becoming an "island of strangers" and that his government would "take back control" of the country's borders.

Under his plans - which include banning care homes from employing foreign workers and tightening up English language tests for new arrivals - the Home Office estimated net migration could fall to 300,000 by 2029.

Despite the PM's vow to reclaim control over who was coming into the country, 2025 has seen more illegal migrants cross the Channel than any other year on record. By April 28, more than 10,000 people had made the perilous journey. Over the past three years it's taken until June for that many to cross.

Tory-turned-Reform councillor Jaymey McIvor, who represents Ongar, the ward where the now-vacated Phoenix Hotel sits, said the reopening of the migrant accommodation was a serious local concern.

"Like people that live in Epping, I'm very worried about it. I'm unhappy about it", he said. "We were promised a government that was going to smash the gangs, end the use of hotels, and the one that was closed under the previous government is now reopening.

"So it's a huge anxiety for the local community and as a local councillor I receive that feedback from people who live here".

Mr McIvor's council colleague, Holly Whitbread, who represents Epping West and Rural, claimed the Home Office did not consult local government on the reactivation of the Bell. "We were informed rather than consulted", she said.

Her father and the leader of EFDC Chris Whitbread, added that the council opposed the move, just as it did when the previous government opened the site for asylum seekers.

"As a council.... our strong position is that even though we weren't asked this time, we still made the same level of representations, raising our concerns about this type of facility within Epping", he said. "It really just isn't the right facility for this type of use, which is really concerning. It's really about that community cohesion. I understand completely the worries that people have and that's why we asked the Government to rethink what they were doing".

Epping Forest MP Dr Neil Hudson said: "I want to reiterate my sadness and concern about the recent major fire at the Phoenix Hotel and latterly the fire at the Bell Hotel. I want to again thank and pay tribute to the members of the emergency services who responded so bravely to these events a few weeks ago and again we are all thankful that all of the residents of both hotels are safe and well. I am in regular contact with the Home Office about the ongoing situation with regard to the outcome of these events for the residents of the Phoenix and the Bell.

"The current situation with the recent standing up of the Bell Hotel in Epping is of major concern. It is hugely disappointing that the Labour Government has reversed the decision of the previous government who ceased using this hotel in April last year. Labour made promises that they would end the use of asylum hotels, but there are now 8000 more people in those hotels costing £2 Billion a year. They also made promises on illegal immigration, but on their watch this has markedly gone up.

"When this hotel in Epping was being used in the past, I know that church groups and many residents provided crucial support for vulnerable people in the asylum system here, and that they continue to do so nearby. I want to thank them for all they do and continue to do.

"I have met with the Home Office about this decision and its implementation and sought assurances about the welfare of those being housed here, sought assurances for members of the local community with any concerns about this decision, and continue to urge the Government to work with local stakeholders and services to address this situation holistically, to provide support for all affected."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "In Autumn 2023, there were more than 400 asylum hotels in use across the UK at a cost of almost £9 million per day, and in the months before the election, the asylum backlog soared again as decision-making collapsed, placing the entire asylum system under unprecedented strain.

"That was the situation the government inherited but we have begun to restore order, with a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK."