The British government policy of housing thousands of asylum seekers in hotels was facing severe pressure on Wednesday, as opponents leapt on a court ruling to call for protests and legal action to have them all evicted.
According to a regular tracker of voters' concerns, immigration has overtaken the economy as the biggest issue amid anger over record numbers of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel, including more than 27,000 this year.
On Tuesday, the High Court in London granted a temporary injunction to stop asylum seekers from being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of London in the county of Essex.
The hotel had become a focal point for regular protests after a resident was charged with sexual assault, a crime he denies, with large numbers of police separating anti-immigration protesters and pro-immigration groups.
The injunction in the Epping case centred around a specific planning issue and could be reversed when the case is heard in full later this year.
But other councils said they would also urgently seek legal advice on evicting asylum seekers from hotels in their areas.
Reuters
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