Chaos for Labour as second council threatens legal action over asylum hotels

Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure after a second local authority threatened legal action to block the use of hotels for asylum seekers after Tuesday's landmark High Court ruling in favour of neighbouring Epping Forest District Council. Hours after the decision was announced, Broxbourne Borough Council confirmed that it is now seeking urgent legal advice on whether it could pursue an injunction against the use of the Delta Marriott Hotel in Cheshunt, just six miles from the Bell Hotel in Epping, where migrants have been accommodated.

In a strongly worded statement, Broxbourne Council declared that it had "opposed the use of the Delta Marriott for this purpose from the outset" and would now consider "as a matter of priority" its next steps in light of Epping's court victory. Council leader Corina Gander, a Conservative, said the ruling had set a "massive precedent" and had given her authority "a massive boost" to take action.

She said: "We're going to be gathering more detail about what Epping has done before making a decision."

Crowds have already gathered outside the Cheshunt Marriott in recent weeks to protest against asylum seekers being housed there.

Tensions have been further inflamed by the high-profile case of a 14-year-old girl allegedly assaulted by a resident of the Bell Hotel in Epping. Several other men connected to the site have also been charged with public order offences following clashes outside the hotel.

Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction by Mr Justice Eyre on Tuesday, blocking the Home Office from continuing to place asylum seekers in the Bell Hotel.

The ruling, hailed by Nigel Farage as a "victory," has been seized upon by campaigners across the country, with the Reform UK leader promising that councils controlled by his party will "do everything in their power to follow Epping's lead."

The Home Office had argued that such injunctions risked undermining its statutory duty to house asylum seekers and could breach human rights law.

However, the judge rejected those claims, granting the order until September 12. Hotel operators have vowed to appeal, warning of "wide-reaching ramifications" for the Government's asylum strategy.

Labour now finds itself under fire from all sides. Conservative frontbenchers Kemi Badenoch and Chris Philp accused ministers of "abandoning local communities" and said residents "should never have had to fight their own Government just to feel safe."

Mr Farage, meanwhile, accused the Government of "dumping young, undocumented males" on towns against residents' wishes.

Labour sources hit back, accusing Tory-led councils of hypocrisy for failing to challenge the previous Conservative government over asylum hotels when they were in power. One senior Labour insider claimed council leaders were "scared of Reform" and playing politics with people's fears.

Broxbourne's threat of legal action is set to intensify the crisis. Gander has written to the Home Office demanding an assurance that no asylum seekers from Epping will be moved to Cheshunt. "The use of the Delta Marriott is inappropriate," the council's statement insisted.

With injunctions now seen as a viable tool for blocking hotels, ministers face the prospect of a domino effect as more local authorities test the courts.

What began as a single case in Epping appears to be snowballing into a wider legal and political battle - one Labour cannot afford to ignore.