"Lawyers for the council have argued Somani Hotels Ltd, which owned The Bell Hotel, breached planning laws by housing asylum seekers. Part of its 566,000 legal bill included costs awarded to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and to Somani Hotels Ltd, amounting to 66,000 and 95,000 respectively."
"However, the council spokeswoman said it was 'completely unfair' to award costs to Mahmood, saying it was the Home Office's policies 'that led to the appalling incidents' in Epping. '[Legal action] was not taken against the Home Office, despite their wholly unsuitable use of the hotel for asylum seeker accommodation,' she said."
"Jon Whitehouse, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, said the Conservative administration had been 'reckless' in its spending. He accused it of throwing money at the courts, 'rather than going through the normal planning enforcement process'. 'This legal action has dragged on for months, cost hard-pressed local residents a fortune and we still have no clear outcome,' Whitehouse said."
Epping council incurred £566,000 in legal costs attempting to stop asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel. The council argued the hotel owner breached planning laws, but lost the case and was ordered to pay £66,000 to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and £95,000 to Somani Hotels Ltd. The council disputes the fairness of these costs, arguing Home Office policies created unsuitable accommodation conditions. An asylum seeker resident was arrested and jailed for sexual offences in summer 2025, intensifying local opposition. Opposition councillors criticized the legal strategy as reckless spending that could have been handled through normal planning enforcement, questioning whether success would justify the enormous taxpayer bill.
#asylum-seeker-housing #legal-costs #planning-enforcement #local-government-spending #public-safety-concerns
Read at www.bbc.com
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