Overview

• Authorities ordered the immediate closure of delivery-only kitchens operating under the names Absurd Stacks and Big Boi Burgers at the taxpayer-funded Cedar Court Hotel.
• Wakefield Council and the Home Office have launched investigations into whether EC4 Hotel Ltd and Mears Group breached asylum accommodation contracts and food licensing requirements.
• Deliveroo and Uber Eats suspended the virtual brands’ access to their platforms pending internal reviews into the hotel’s takeaway operations.
• Environmental Health had inspected the kitchen in September 2024 and awarded it a five-star hygiene rating, and the Home Office confirmed that hotel residents were not involved in the service.
• The incident has highlighted broader concerns about weak controls over the UK’s daily £5 million asylum hotel contracts with private providers.