Overview

• The case opens at 10.30am Wednesday at the Royal Courts of Justice before Mr Justice Mould.
• Epping Forest District Council seeks a permanent injunction to stop the Bell Hotel being used to house asylum seekers.
• Somani Hotels and the Home Office oppose the claim, after the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier temporary order as “seriously flawed in principle.”
• The Home Office says it plans to close all asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament and it failed to delay this hearing in a bid for a more orderly wind‑down.
• EFDC also alleges a planning breach, and the hotel became a flashpoint after two residents were jailed and protests were held over safety concerns.