Overview

• Essex Police have bolstered their local presence and sought support from Metropolitan and British Transport Police after Thursday’s unrest outside The Bell Hotel.
• Specialist detectives are analyzing CCTV, body-worn camera and drone footage to identify individuals responsible for assaulting eight officers and damaging police vans.
• Two people have been arrested, including a 65-year-old man charged with affray for a Sunday bus-stop attack and another held for breaching dispersal orders.
• Council leader Chris Whitbread and local MPs have called on the Home Office to cease using the Bell Hotel for asylum accommodation due to safety and infrastructure concerns.
• The trial of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu on sexual offence charges continues at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court as organisers warn of further demonstrations.