Notorious Hotel Evacuated
Residents Removed from Notorious Essex Bell Hotel Due to Urgent Fire Safety Concerns
Key Points
Hotel resident Hadush Kebatu was found guilty of five offences, including the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
After his jailing, Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in October before being detained and deported to Ethiopia.
Reporting of the protests last summer indicates they escalated, with demonstrations “turn[ing] violent” outside The Bell Hotel after the resident was charged and then convicted of sexually assaulting a child.
The property has been described as a “notorious Essex migrant hotel” and the site of “numerous anti-migrant protests” last year.
All residents have been removed from The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, with the Home Office citing fire safety concerns as the reason for the sudden evacuation, according to BBC News. Only security staff remain on site. The move ends more than a year of controversy at the hotel, which became one of the most high-profile flashpoints in Britain's asylum accommodation crisis.
Epping Forest District Council said it was blindsided by the decision. A spokesperson said: "Despite ongoing engagement with the Home Office, we did not know in advance that this was going to happen." The council has asked for clarification on what comes next, The Independent reported.
A Year of Protests, Arson and Sexual Assault
The Bell Hotel, a 16th-century former coaching inn, became a national lightning rod in the summer of 2025. In July of that year, resident Hadush Kebatu sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in school uniform on Epping High Street. He was later convicted of five sexual offences and jailed for 12 months, according to Sky News.
The conviction triggered mass protests outside the hotel on July 13, 2025. Eight police officers were injured in violent clashes involving projectiles and flares. Seventeen people were arrested in a single day. Earlier that spring, a separate resident, Rawand Abdulrahman, was arrested for an arson attack at the hotel in April 2025. He was later convicted of arson reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Kebatu's Mistaken Release Turned a Local Case National
The controversy deepened in October 2025. On October 24, Kebatu was accidentally freed from HMP Chelmsford due to an administrative error, instead of being transferred to immigration detention, The Guardian reported. A 48-hour national manhunt followed. He was arrested in Finsbury Park, London, on October 26.
Kebatu was deported to Ethiopia on October 29, 2025, according to BBC News. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had "pulled every lever" to ensure his removal. The accidental release had turned what began as a local criminal case into a national political scandal about border security and prison administration.
Council Lost Two Court Battles Before Home Office Acted
Epping Forest District Council tried twice to force the hotel's closure through the courts. In August 2025, it won a temporary High Court injunction to remove all 138 residents by September 12. But the Court of Appeal overturned it just weeks later, ruling the order could encourage further protests, according to ITV News.
In November 2025, the High Court dismissed the council's bid for a permanent injunction. Judges agreed a planning breach had occurred — the hotel was operating as a hostel without permission — but ruled that closing it was not "just or convenient" given the Home Office's duty to house asylum seekers. The council leader, Cllr Chris Whitbread, had repeatedly called the site "completely unsuitable" for the purpose.
Fire Safety Cited as Home Office Exits a Political Flashpoint
The Home Office's decision to cite fire safety as the reason for closure is notable. The council had failed to close the hotel on planning grounds after two court defeats. Using fire safety rules provides a separate, technical route to end the contract — one that sidesteps the political and legal deadlock that had kept the hotel open for over a year, according to The Independent.
The closure comes as the Home Office has been reducing its reliance on hotel accommodation nationally. At its peak, housing asylum seekers in hotels cost British taxpayers £8 million per day. The Home Office has reported a 35% drop in the hotel-based asylum population over the past year. The 138 residents from The Bell are expected to be moved to basic accommodation or former military sites, The Independent reported.
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