UK GOVT APPEALS COURT RULING FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS- Alleging that closure of hotels would put pressure on the system to house asylum seekers 

The British government has argued that a court ruling requiring asylum seekers to be temporarily evicted from a hotel risks sparking further chaotic protests outside the residences housing them, as it has appealed against the decision.

Last week, the High Court in London granted a temporary injunction to stop asylum seekers from being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles northeast of London in the county of Essex.

The hotel owners and the British government sought permission to appeal against the injunction which had been granted to the local authority on planning grounds.They also argued that any closure of hotels would put pressure on the system to house the thousands of asylum seekers waiting to have their cases determined. Britain currently houses about 30,000 migrants in more than 200 hotels across the country

Lawyers for the government argued that the High Court judge had failed to take into account the significant national impact the ruling would have, and suggested that Epping Council, run by the opposition Conservatives, was seeking to exploit nationwide tensions over immigration for political purposes.

The lawyers in a written submission to the Court of Appeal alleged that the granting of an interim injunction may run the risk of acting as an impetus for further protests around other asylum accommodation.