Anti-migrant protests turn violent in London and Essex; police use pepper spray, make arrests

“The suspect was immediately arrested by officers who used PAVA spray,” police said in a statement, adding that others in the crowded area, including bystanders, may have been affected.

The Metropolitan Police reported that protesters, some wearing masks, became aggressive towards officers after moving into the shopping centre. Three arrests were made on charges of common assault, drug possession, and assault on police/public order offences. A Section 60AA order has been issued for the Isle of Dogs area, granting police powers to order the removal of face coverings.

Epping protests over asylum hotel

In Essex, tensions remain high around the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has become the focus of repeated demonstrations since an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month. The accused has denied the charges.

Essex Police imposed strict conditions on planned protests in the area, including a dispersal order covering the high street and surrounding areas until 4 a.m. and a requirement that demonstrations end by 8 p.m. Officers have also been given powers to order the removal of face coverings.

Wider unrest and political fallout

The weekend’s demonstrations followed a High Court ruling allowing Epping Forest Council to shut down the Bell Hotel due to “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption.” The government is appealing the decision.

Elsewhere, rival groups — including Abolish Asylum System and Stand Up to Racism — clashed in towns and cities including Bristol, with police making more than a dozen arrests.

The tensions come against the backdrop of a record 111,084 asylum applications in the year to June 2025. Home Office figures show about 32,000 asylum seekers are currently housed in hotels — well below the September 2023 peak of 56,000 but still up from last year.

Flags and far-right rhetoric

The protests have been accompanied by a surge in Union Jack flag displays, which some councils have removed citing safety and outside agitators. Tower Hamlets Council warned that “some individuals putting up flags are not from our borough” and accused outsiders of trying to “sow division.”

The move has been condemned by right-wing politicians. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has endorsed the flag campaign, while senior Conservative MP Robert Jenrick blasted “Britain-hating councils,” declaring: “We must be one country, under the Union Flag.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the violence as “far-right thuggery” but acknowledged public frustrations over migration pressures. His government has pledged to accelerate asylum decisions, disrupt people-smuggling gangs, and explore a returns deal with France.

Migration at the political forefront

Immigration has become a central political flashpoint in Britain, mirroring tensions across Europe as governments struggle with rising migrant flows.

Starmer’s government recently abandoned the Conservatives’ Rwanda deportation scheme but faces pressure to deliver results after more than 27,000 people crossed the Channel illegally so far this year — nearly 50% higher than at the same point last year.

With military barracks set to close and a controversial migrant barge already scrapped, the government faces limited options to house asylum seekers.