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This week has seen protest and violent disorder in Epping after alleged cases of sexual assault, anti-migrant protests in Diss and the rumour mill in overdrive about new asylum seeker accommodation in a hotel Canary Wharf.

Epping

• Sunday 13 July: A local protest began after an asylum seeker at the Bell Hotel in Epping was charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence (the individual denies all charges). 
• That evening, two of the hotel’s security guards were assaulted at a bus stop. The attack is being treated as a racist hate crime, and a 65-year old man has been charged with affray but released on bail, and is due to appear in Chelmsford Magistrates Court in September. 
• Thursday 17 July: The asylum seeker charged appeared in Chelmsford Magistrates court, and denied all charges. A second protest began peacefully but descended into violence towards the evening. 

Fireworks and eggs were thrown at police, police vans were damaged (smashed windshields, wingmirrors torn off, protesters attempted to break into vans), and two people were arrested. 

There were attendees from The Homeland Party and Blood and Honour, as well as former Combat 18 and For Britain members. This was the most violent of the three evenings. 

• Saturday 20th July: A third planned peaceful protest began with approximately 1500 people gathered outside the Bell hotel. There was a march consisting mainly of women, who held banners reading ‘save our kids’. 

Towards the evening, a similar situation to Thursday emerged where bottles and smoke flares were thrown at police, although police did seem to have more presence and control than on Thursday. 

A car suspected to be an unmarked police car (unconfirmed) had its windscreen smashed in. Heavier presence from the far right, as Nick Tenconi (UKIP leader) gave a speech. Also present were members of The Homeland Party, The White Vanguard, Britain First and former Patriotic Alternative members. 6 people were arrested.

What’s Next? 

• There is a rumoured protest to take place on Thursday 24th of July, with plans to meet at the Bell Hotel and walk to the council building. 
• During a livestream at the Epping protests on Sunday, a young woman said that she wanted Tommy Robinson to come to Epping. In response, Tommy announced that he would be coming to Epping for a protest on Sunday 27th July. 
• While some supported the idea of Tommy attending, there was significant pushback from far-right figures, particularly the Homeland Party. The split over who did and did not want him to come was not necessarily split by who liked and disliked him. Many of his followers discouraged him as his presence would allow the government to crack down on a local movement. 
• As it currently stands, Tommy is unlikely to go to Epping. However this is changing all the time, and a protest could still emerge on Sunday 27th July regardless due to the attention this would have drawn. Tommy released a clip of him discussing the reasons why it would be better for him not to go, stating that his “current thought process” was that he didn’t want to “give them the excuse to label it differently” or to “give them a reason to clamp down and go against it”. While he doesn’t definitively say he is not coming, the video strongly suggests that he is reconsidering. 

Diss

• On the evening of the 21st of June, around 150 protesters and 70 counter protesters gathered outside the Park Hotel in Norwich. 
• The protests emerged after the Home Office changed the hotel occupants from families, who are reported to be well integrated into the local community, to single adult males. 
• The Park Hotel is one of three sites of contention in the Norwich area, the other two being the Brook Hotel and the Norwich Hotel (under the same ownership). Police were called to a small demonstration outside the Brook Hotel on the 9th of July. 
• Luke Sharman, who previously worked at the Brook and the Norwich hotels, has been acting as a ‘whistleblower’, sharing stories from his time at work. Sharman gave a speech at Monday evening’s protest outside the Park. In the video, he can be heard saying: ‘Paedos and rapists, every single one of them. I don’t give a shit if they’re not, they all come from the same, they’re all the same. It’s as simple as that.’. 
• There is another demo planned in Norwich this Saturday 26th of July, 2pm, at the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe. James Harvey, head of Students Against Tyranny, is one of the organisers for the event. Luke Sharman is also expected to attend. 
• Similarly to in Canary Wharf, there haven’t been any significant far-right actors in attendance, but Tommy Robinson, Paul Golding and Turning Point UK have both reposted footage in favour of the protesters 
• Callum Barker (Homeland Party), a driving force behind protests in Epping, recently posted a ‘National Call to Action’. He referenced Diss in connection to Epping, and encouraged anybody who lives near asylum seeker accommodation to protest across the country. 

Canary Wharf

• A small crowd of protesters gathered at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf on the 22nd of July; police were called to the scene. 
• Rumours began online that the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf was being used as asylum seeker accommodation, and was housing asylum seekers who had been moved from the Bell Hotel in Epping. We know that the government does intend to use the hotel for asylum seeker accommodations, but nobody has been moved there as of yet. There are no current plans to house people from the Bell Hotel there. 
• Now that it has been confirmed that the hotel is indeed intended to house asylum seekers, there is a chance that it could attract further protests. There are currently no confirmed dates.
• As of the moment, we do not believe there were any known far-right figures at the protest. However, footage from the event was reposted by many far-right actors online, including Tommy Robinson, who called protesters ‘patriots’. 

Barbican

• A protest has been organised for Saturday 2nd of August at the Barbican Thistle Hotel. This has emerged in the context of increasing protests at hotels housing asylum seekers across the UK, but more so due to a report alleging that over 90 charges have been brought against 41 residents of the Thistle hotel. 
• We have had reports of people filming the entrance of the hotel, and using drones to film residents through windows. There is increased police presence around the hotel. 

HOPE not hate predicts that there could be more anti-migrant protests and disorder this summer.

Nick Lowles, CEO at HOPE not hate said,

“Sadly, we fear that we could be heading for another long, hot summer of community and racial tensions. It’s clear that an arrest, an allegation or a rumour can quickly take hold, be whipped up and racialised by the far right and result in serious and violent disorder.

Sexual violence and crime impacts all communities and involve perpetrators of all races. The far right’s attempts to pin all crime on immigration is both disingenuous and dangerous.

It’s essential that proactive steps are taken to reduce tension and the potential for trouble. We can’t just oppose these protests, politicians need to listen, to understand the concerns of communities and offer practical solutions. Fundamentally, we’ve got to give communities hope that their day to day lives are getting better, otherwise we are just driving people in the hands of the far right”