Overview

• Met police arrested five after masked men tried to force entry to a Crowne Plaza near Heathrow, with two officers sustaining minor injuries and a Section 35 dispersal order enforced.
• Essex Police issued a Section 60AA order to remove face coverings and a dispersal zone around Epping’s Bell Hotel, following three arrests on Friday with two men charged.
• Demonstrations and counter-protests spread to Falkirk, Newcastle, Gloucester, Bournemouth and London, including a rally outside the Britannia International in Canary Wharf.
• Ministers defended the successful appeal and reiterated plans to shut all asylum hotels by the end of the parliament, as refugee groups pressed for faster alternatives to hotel use.
• The political fight sharpened after a cabinet minister accused Reform UK of stoking anger over asylum hotels, a claim the party rejected while insisting it backs only lawful, peaceful protests.