Asylum hotel court ruling poses real danger for government - but they also smell dirty tricks

"It's an absorbing moment," was however 1 authorities root described the High Court ruling that volition unit an Essex edifice to beryllium emptied of asylum seekers wrong weeks.

That whitethorn beryllium to beryllium the understatement of the summer.

For clues arsenic to why, conscionable instrumentality a glimpse astatine what the Home Office's ain lawyer told the tribunal connected Tuesday.

Granting the injunction "runs the hazard of acting arsenic an impetus for further convulsive protests", the barrister said - pointing retired that akin ineligible claims by different councils would "aggravate pressures connected the asylum estate".

Right connected cue and conscionable hours aft the ruling came in, Broxbourne Council - implicit the borderline successful Hertfordshire - posted online that it was urgently seeking ineligible proposal with a presumption to taking akin tribunal action.

The risks present are clear.

Recent figures amusement conscionable implicit 30,000 asylum seekers being housed successful hotels crossed the country.

If they commencement to bare retired pursuing a drawstring of tribunal claims, the Home Office volition conflict to find alternate options.

After all, they are lone successful hotels due to the fact that of a deficiency of different types of accommodation.

There are respective caveats though.

This is conscionable an interim injunction that volition beryllium heard successful afloat successful the autumn.

So the tribunal could plaything backmost successful favour of the edifice concatenation - and by hold the Home Office.

Read more:
Who says what connected asylum hotels?

We person been present before

Remember, this isn't the archetypal ineligible assertion of this kind.

Other councils person tried to leverage the powerfulness of the courts to unopen down asylum hotels, with varying degrees of success.

In 2022, Ipswich Borough Council failed to get an hold to an interim injunction to forestall migrants being sent to a Novotel successful the town.

As successful Epping, lawyers argued determination had been a alteration successful usage nether readying rules.

But the justice yet decided that the ineligible work the Home Office has to supply accommodation for asylum seekers was much important.

So determination whitethorn not beryllium a nonstop work crossed from this lawsuit to different councils.

Home Office officials are emphasising this injunction was won connected the grounds of readying laws alternatively than nationalist issues specified arsenic nationalist order, and arsenic such, each lawsuit volition beryllium different.

Failing Labour attack oregon Tory tricks?

But authorities sources besides odor soiled tricks from Epping Council and are suggesting that the Tory-led section authorization made the ineligible assertion for governmental reasons.

Pointing to the beingness of respective salient Tory MPs successful the Essex country - arsenic good arsenic the menace posed by Reform successful the region - the question being posed is wherefore this ineligible situation was not brought erstwhile asylum seekers archetypal started being sent to the edifice successful 2020 during the Conservatives' clip successful government.

Epping Council would nary uncertainty cull that and accidental caller upset prompted them to act.

But that won't halt the Tories and Reform of seizing connected this arsenic grounds of a failing attack from Labour.

So determination are governmental risks for the government, yes, but it's the practicalities that could travel from this ruling that airs the bigger danger.