There are headlines this morning about last nights protest in Epping about the migrants who have been billeted at the Bell Hotel just on the edge of town.
50 years ago I used to visit Epping a lot. The Central line or No 20A bus from Walthamstow made for a lovely night out in the countryside, in a choice of Olde Worlde pubs. Because Epping and nearby Loughton, Debden, Chigwell, Theydon Bois and Buckhurst Hill are served by London Transport, and are adjacent to the London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering and Enfield that it is also part of the Greater London Authority. But they are governed by the Epping District Council which forms a rather lovely curve into NE London and remained part of Essex after the ‘reforms’ of 1965. Because it is so nice, and so near, a lot of residents are from east London who no longer feel at home in the districts where they were born. This is the area of TV comedy Birds of a Feather.
Epping is policed by Essex Police and not the Metropolitan Police althought they were called in last night to ‘assist’.
There have been complaints about the new residents of the Bell Hotel since the government started using it for new arrival asylum seekers, illegal immigrants, undocumented migrants or whatever you like to call them. The situation got worse when a migrant resident or residents set another similar hotel, the Phoenix in North Weald Bassett on fire and this associates were transfered into the Bell.
This is a message to parents from St John’s School telling parents
We understand that incidents like this can cause worry, and while they are rare, we believe it is
important to keep families informed and to promote awareness around safety. Please consider
speaking to your child about staying safe in the community, including travelling in groups where
possible and being alert to their surroundings.
If your child feels unsafe or witnesses anything concerning, please encourage them to report it to the
police immediately. Our pupil welfare team is also available to provide any support they may need.
This should not be necessary in any town.
The straw that broke the camels back this month is this incident as reported by the BBC. Thankfully none of these assaults got as far as actual rape, not this time.
Hadush Kebatu, an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, is accused of propositioning …a schoolgirl as she ate pizza … in the town centre of Epping in Essex.
It allegedly happened on 7 July – eight days after the 41-year-old arrived in the UK via a boat.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court was told on Thursday that Mr Kebatu, of High Road in Epping, had denied three sexual offences, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.
The allegations led to two MPs – Neil Hudson, Conservative MP for Epping Forest and Alex Burghart, Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar – as well as the leader of Epping Forest District Council to call for a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town to be closed.
Mr Kebatu appeared in the dock for a case management hearing and was told he would face a two-day trial from 26 August.
It was alleged on 8 July Mr Kebatu had also tried to kiss an adult near a fish and chip shop in the town centre, also telling her she was “pretty” while putting his hand on her leg.
He then encountered the girl again on 8 July and tried to kiss her, the court was told.
The defendant shook his head at times from the dock and clutched a bible as the prosecution case was outlined.
I thought from his name he might be an Ethiopean Christian, but the billeting of unvetted, unsecured and unsuitable young men in large numbers amongest the general population is beyond colour and creed.
A demonstration outside the hotel was called last Sunday evening. I saw reports on X and it was peaceful and orderly. Except the Stand up To Racism branches of Waltham Forest and Harlow (Essex new town to the north) mustered a crew of about 30 people at a few hours notice to challenge “Fascists in Epping attacking asylu mseekers using vile racist sentiments .. .”
The sight of woolly gentifiers of Walthamstow standing with their mass-produced Socialist Workers placards, proclaiming “Refugees Welcome” protecting sex perverts did not go down well.
Essex police had to march the SuTR/UAF/Antifa crowd away and back to Epping Station for their journey home.
This bit of video shows this. The scuffle at the beginning involves a bald man with an adidas shirt who has been spotted as numerous Antifa rallies over the last year; he flaunts a BLM clenched fist tattoo on his left wrist.
There was one arrest for affray that night but otherwise it concluded quietly.
As concerned families protested this evening in Epping, following sex attacks on a local girl by an invader staying at a hotel, paid for by the British taxpayer.
Far left agitators “stand up to racism” attacked locals.
The father of the girl was in attendance.
Absolute scum. pic.twitter.com/qQYbdzAb38
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) July 13, 2025
Another demonstration was called for last night. Antifa/UAF/SuTR had longer to organise and advertised further across London. Meet at Epping Station at 5.30. Stop the Far Right!
Back in 2004 Eping elected a couple of BNP councillors. Recently they have elected some councillors from the Reform Party. The BNP men still live in the town, as is their right, and presumably take an interest in their neighbourhood. This is more than enough for Antifa/UAF/SuTR to label concerned residents, parents and neighbours as “Far-right”. The Reform councillors are among those who have made representations tothe Home Office to close the Bell Hotel. Or return it to general commercial public use.
I stated following the several live streams, in particular that of Ay Audits on You tube and X.
Outside the hotel all was peaceful. The demonstrators were a mix of people, many elderly who expressed concern about their granddaughters. Also young people who could be considered potential targets.
Then the police decided to march the Antifa/UAF/SuTR group towards the Bell to within sight of the local protestors. Responsibility for them seems to have been handed over to officers from the Metropolitanl Police from London. Maybe they had traveled in with them on the Central Line. Whatever, it was a terrible idea. They should have been allowed to say their piece but with sufficient distance between them.
So there was a surge up Epping High Street from The Bell to the Shell garage where the Antifa/UAF/SuTR group had stopped. And then, another mistake, the police ushered the group across the High Street into Tower Road; a residential road with dead ends and closes along its length. No way out and the wrong side of the High Street for Station Road or any back way to the station.
Tempers flared and yes, there were scuffles. Eggs were thrown and not just eggs. Police vehicles were damaged. I can’t condone violence and criminal damage. But I can understand the anger that sparked it.
The police loaded the Antifa/UAF/SuTR group onto 4 Metropolitan Police personnel transport vehicles. Video was taken of this.
🚨 Epping protest: This is outrageous! Police are escorting counter-protesters into riot vans for transport. This is how our taxes are being spent? Instead of tackling crime, the police are choosing sides.
Credit @MartinGauci pic.twitter.com/jO7SrdDE3s
— Queen Natalie (@TheNorfolkLion) July 17, 2025
Those vehicles then came roaring out of Tower Road, turning right into Epping High street like this. There are several views of this on X; I think this shows it best.
&n
EPPING: Protester run over by police van during ugly scenes with police. pic.twitter.com/RNOWTz2yZv
— Urban Pictures (@Urban_Pictures) July 17, 2025
bsp;
The chap in the blue got away with a gashed leg, I have no idea how the chap in black is.
The Telegraph has asked Essex Police whether it has reported itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the police watchdog.
The demonstrators moved back to the Bell. The hotel had already been surrounded by security fencing, as apparently had the Phoenix in North Weald Basset. As the sun set no obvious lights were showing and I wondered whether the ‘residents’ had been moved out in the early hours of the morning. Police were guarding the entrance and after dark the live streams ended.
Update – Rebecca has found a report and interviews from Emma Dunwell at 10.20pm before the 10.30 dispersal order came into effect. These could be my relatives talking – had I not seen his face it could have been my late uncle (his oldest son, one of my many cousins lived with his wife and daughters about 2 miles from this) addressing the police.
“Civil War Is Inevitable” Last night Epping Locals reached breaking point, outside the Bell Hotel, at least 100 officers (my estimate) lined in front of the hotel in fullriot gear including sheilds. Full video coming on my YouTube soon, stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/mryxxMvpHZ
— Emma Dunwell (@ESpeaksFreely) July 18, 2025
This morning the Head of Essex police was on BBC TV saying he will not tolerate violence and unrest!
I doubt we have heard the last of this.
3 Responses
There is a tide in the affairs of men when they tire of behaving like other than men.
Now is that tide, now is that time, now are those men.