Ex Saints Chairman Rupert Lowe has called for a dramatic escalation of the government’s approach to illegal migration, following the closure of a controversial migrant hotel in Epping, a move hailed by some residents as a victory for local democracy and community action. Epping Forest District Council successfully went to court to force the closure of the hotel which they felt was not suitable for their community.
In a letter addressed to the Home Secretary, Rupert Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth, praised Epping’s “good people” for what he described as a “peaceful and successful” campaign to shut down one of the town’s hotels previously used to house asylum seekers. The closure, he argued, sets a precedent that may embolden other councils and communities across the country to resist similar schemes. Will Southampton Council follow suit and close all Migrant hotels and HMOs in Southampton?
“Local councils now know they can block hotel use through injunctions. Communities will not tolerate being treated as dumping grounds, nor should they,” Lowe wrote. “The public backlash is only going to grow, and every new hotel scheme risks more protests, more policing costs, and more division.”
Lowe, who has previously spoken out against the use of local hotels for asylum accommodation in Great Yarmouth, renewed his call for a total end to what he labelled a “rotten” policy. He argued that hotels are unsuitable and unsafe for long-term use, costly for taxpayers, and a source of community tension and disorder. The MP also dismissed proposals to relocate migrants into shared housing or HMOs, warning that such measures would only “magnify community tensions” and “overwhelm local services.”
Instead, Lowe outlined a stark alternative: an immediate halt to all hotel and HMO use, the detention of all illegal arrivals and those currently in community accommodation, and their removal to offshore tented camps. He insisted that only “swift and consistent” deportations would restore public confidence and act as a real deterrent to those attempting to cross the Channel.
“Unless illegal entry results in detention and removal, the boats will keep coming and Britain will remain a magnet to the third world,” he wrote. “In short—DETAIN, DEPORT. That, is how we stop the boats.”
The MP’s intervention follows a High Court ruling that backed Epping Forest District Council’s use of an injunction to prevent further hotel use for asylum accommodation, a decision that has reverberated through local authorities nationwide. Some campaigners have celebrated the ruling as a turning point, while others warn it could leave vulnerable people with nowhere to go.
Lowe’s letter comes amid continued controversy over the government’s handling of asylum seekers, with thousands still housed in hotels across the UK at a reported cost of £8 million per day. Ministers have promised to reduce the use of hotels, but have faced criticism from both anti-migrant campaigners and refugee charities, the latter warning of a rise in rough sleeping and destitution if accommodation options are abruptly withdrawn.
The Home Office has yet to respond to Lowe’s letter, but officials have previously stated that the use of hotels is a “temporary measure” and that the government is committed to finding more sustainable solutions.
For now, the events in Epping have become a flashpoint in a national debate—one that shows no signs of cooling off. As councils weigh their next moves and communities take stock, the future of migrant accommodation in the UK remains fiercely contested.
