The Guardian view on the Epping hotel ruling: asylum seekers must not be treated as pariahs in a Faragian Britain | Editorial

The high court decision to block the housing of migrants heralds a dangerous new phase in a radicalised and increasingly ugly debateAsked on the radio what should happen to asylum seekers accommodated in a Hertfordshire hotel, if a court were to rule that they must be moved out, the Conservative leader of Broxbourne Council, Corina Gander, said flatly: “That’s the government’s problem.” Ms Gander had indicated that she would seek to challenge the use of the hotel following Epping council’s successful legal precedent. Other local authorities will surely follow suit.As Britain’s immigration debate turns ever more ugly, that is a problem for the nation as well as the government. Far-right groups were energetically involved in this summer’s protests outside the Essex hotel, which followed the arrest of an Ethiopian asylum seeker for alleged sexual offences. The high court ruling has handed them a major opportunity that they will certainly seize. Home Office lawyers were stating the obvious when warning that Mr Justice Eyre’s decision to grant the council’s shutdown request “ran the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests”. Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

It's official - the stalking of Sussan Ley has begun... as 'future leader' sets off a bomb: PETER VAN ONSELEN

No Deal —Why Trump shouldn’t touch LIRR union fight

It's one year since the Manchester City trial of the century started: This is what has shocked experts, what they believe is going on behind closed doors and what it means for the verdict on their 115 charges

Emma Stone went all in for her ‘terrifically funny or hilariously horrific’ new film ‘Bugonia’

Three years later, Iran’s freedom martyr Mahsa Amini inspires demands for change

Hollywood’s latest Hamas stooge Hannah Einbender’s anti-Israel rant made her the Emmy’s ‘biggest loser’

Doubling down on Israel-bashing: Zohran Mamdani at his MOST sincere

Don’t let Buttigieg or any other Biden-decline denier claw back their credibility

Charlie Kirk’s free-speech advocacy: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 16, 2025

Trump’s UK state visit could push PM Starmer’s government over the edge

British comedienne makes vile online rant about Charlie Kirk's assassination

Charlie Kirk’s murder will break the left’s hateful cancel tactics

A Hollywood nepobaby cheers Hamas, and they repay her by censoring her shoulders

Kathy Hochul is a red-hot hypocrite who won’t support Zohran Mamdani’s tax-hike policies anyway

Charlie Kirk was right on liberty’s cost, America needs more arguments and other commentary

Fearmongering predictions about climate change keep falling apart

The warped meme life of Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer is a warning to parents—ignore it at your own risk

Starbucks needs proper managers — no one needs to wait 11 minutes for a drink with a cute message scribbled on the side

For the first time in a year the Tories felt like a serious force in parliament: QUENTIN LETTS

All eyes on change at the Fed amid fears a bubble is building - and may be set to burst: ALEX BRUMMER

The ugly Emmys insult to Charlie Kirk... the most hideously dressed actress... and why Stephen Colbert is truly pathetic: KENNEDY reveals the REAL awards and epic fails

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Why are we arranging weddings for illegal migrants we should be deporting? Is this where all our money is going?

Stop private foundations from ‘partnering’ to fund deadly government criminal-justice policies

Contributor: All L.A. rentals are to be cooled by 2032. Here's how to survive the heat until then

There’s no denying the trans links to suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination

Should I opt for a £64,000 lump sum or a higher monthly local government pension? STEVE WEBB replies

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Pull the other one, Chris Bowen. Little old Australia cutting its emissions by a little bit more is not going to spare us 'the worst'

Kathy Hochul is embracing all of Zohran Mamdani’s radical agenda with her spineless endorsement

A former Mossad chief uncovers his life fighting for Israel — and Western civilization

Is this the 'dream team' who could save the Coalition? As Sussan Ley takes the Liberals to unthinkable lows - WORSE than Dutton ever was! - the options for the future emerge...

Leaving monsters like Jamel McGriff free to kill is what ‘parole reform’ now means

ANDREW NEIL: We don't know where, when or how, but we do know Starmer is done... and this is why Labour is facing extinction

Don’t buy any Zohran Mamdani ‘apology’ for smearing the NYPD

ANDREW PIERCE: All right for sum! Sacked Mandy in line for £8million

American decline: Depopulation is possible — and could cause a collapse

Social media’s deranged Charlie Kirk responses, assassinations and history’s hinges, and other commentary

ALEX BRUMMER: Donors divide the art world giants

Hochul’s insensitive quip: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 15, 2025

Americans need to come together and rediscover what made this country great — before it’s too late

From mascara to hairdryers - I've found every 'DUPE' beauty product that's better than the real thing

Europe provoked its own destruction — with crises that threaten the entire West

Jeffrey Epstein skirted the same law the IRS uses to ruin small businesses

Housing hypocrites Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani put politics over wisdom

Minneapolis shooting was driven by anti-Catholic hatred that the media ignores

Charlie Kirk lived out the mission that our universities betrayed

Hochul must shame LIRR unions —by revealing their outrageous strike demands

I've been lying to my husband about the thing he loves most. If I come clean, he'll be humiliated: DEAR JANE

Charlie Kirk’s assassination is the result of a decade of anti-Trump rhetoric from the left

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: The weakest part of this crumbling Government? It's Starmer himself

FLOURISHING AFTER 50: Help! My partner and I have five adult kids, one family home... and a battle brewing over my will

TONY HETHERINGTON: I invested £160,000... then my financial adviser went bust

JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Crazy card plan encourages thieves to empty your bank account

LIRR fare evaders and more: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 14, 2025

In Europe, too, Charlie Kirk’s message of faith fed Gen Z’s hunger for meaning

'He's not even in the top three most important people': Ministers tell me who REALLY runs the Government, why Keir Starmer is now alone and without allies... and the disturbing influence of Tony Blair: DAN HODGES

Gov. Hochul & MTA brass must face down LIRR union thugs’ strike threat

The party assassins after Sussan Ley: Insiders tell PVO they already have the numbers with a successor in the wings. The only question is when they'll strike...

My best friend's shockingly cruel confession about her affair with a married man is making me spiral. I fear she might be a psychopath: ASK JANA

This crazy new plan to 'sex up' contactless card payments is a disaster for everyone and will just allow thieves to completely empty your bank account. Don't ignore this warning: JEFF PRESTRIDGE

The day something good left this world - and something grey and dank took it's place: PETER HITCHENS