Asylum hotels latest: Cooper to unveil crackdown on asylum system after Epping ruling sparks fresh protests

More than 90 per cent of refugee family reunion visas go to women and children, experts have said, as home secretary Yvette Cooper is set to crack down on the scheme.

Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, posted on social media that, as of June 2025, 92 per cent of these visas were given to women and children, and more than half went to children. The figures are reflected in a paper published by the Refugee Council entitled ‘Families Belong Together’.

He added: “Two thirds [go] to people from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran and Sudan. It helps integration and provides a safe route. Family reunion should be easier, not harder.”

His comments come as Ms Cooper is set to overhaul the UK’s family reunion policy. The current visa scheme allows people to bring their partners and children to the country once they are granted refugee status.

Since 2022, the number of people entering the UK using these visas has risen sharply, with just over 20,000 being granted in the year to June 2025. This represents a 30 per cent rise on the previous 12 months.

There were rounds of protests again yesterday outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, and the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf.

Seven people were arrested, three in Epping and four in Canary Wharf.

Below, you can see some pictures from those demonstrations.

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Darren Jones to be Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, a new position, as he reshuffles his Downing Street team.

Mr Jones, who had been chief secretary to the Treasury, will be based in Number 10 and “directly oversee work across Government to support the delivery of the Prime Minister’s priorities”, Downing Street said.

Treasury minister James Murray will replace him as Treasury chief secretary while Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson has replaced him as Treasury exchequer secretary.

The appointment follows Sir Keir’s recruitment of Baroness Minouche Shafik, an economist and former president of Columbia University in New York, as his chief economic adviser.

A police has been punched in the face at what were initially peaceful protests in Canary Wharf on Sunday.

Four people were arrested at those protests outside Britannia International Hotel, which was subject to controversy last month after the Government decided to use it as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.

As we reported earlier, another three were arrested in Epping at concurrent demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel, which has also been at the centre of controversy.

You can read our full piece on the two protests below.

Three people have been arrested at a protest in Epping on Sunday night, Essex police have announced.

Around 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Epping Forest District Council building on Sunday evening, where a woman climbed the steps and unfurled a Union flag.

It comes after the Government won a court challenge on Friday, meaning 138 asylum seekers can continue to be housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town.

Two men and one woman were arrested following Sunday’s protest, according to Essex Police.

The force said the woman was arrested at the Civic Centre on suspicion of breaching a Section 14 order that was in place and strongly rejected suggestions she was arrested for flying a Union flag.

One man was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after an emblem was reported to have been set alight.

The arrest is related to an alleged incident on Friday, police said.

Another man was arrested for breaching the Section 14 order after refusing to leave when the protest had ended.

All three remain in custody, the force said on Sunday night.

The Court of Appeal is due to hand down its full written judgment in the Bell Hotel case later today as Yvette Cooper outlines her reforms.

The Government and the hotel’s owner last week succeeded in overturning an interim injunction which would have required asylum seekers to be removed from the site.

Epping Forest District Council, which applied for the injunction, is considering taking the case to the Supreme Court.

In a message to Reform UK, which has promised mass deportations, and the Tories, who want to revive the Rwanda scheme, Yvette Cooper is expected to say: “These are complex challenges and they require sustainable and workable solutions, not fantasy promises which can’t be delivered.”

She will say the UK has a “proud record of giving sanctuary to those fleeing persecution” but the system “needs to be properly controlled and managed, so the rules are respected and enforced, and so governments, not criminal gangs, decide who comes to the UK”.

She will set out measures announced over the summer, including the detention of the first migrants under the “one in, one out” deal with France – with the first deportations back across the Channel due to take place in the coming weeks.

Ms Cooper will also update MPs on reforms to the asylum appeals process which are intended to reduce the backlog and ease the pressure on accommodation.

Yvette Cooper is keen to stress that despite a summer of criticism against Labour’s handling of the asylum system, the Government is strengthening the country’s border security.

She is expected to say how actions to strengthen border security, increase returns and overhaul the asylum system are “putting much stronger foundations in place so we can fix the chaos we inherited and end costly asylum hotels”.

She will say: “That means ensuring we have the powers we need to pursue the criminal smuggling gangs profiting from small boat crossings that other parties have voted against, but also new firm rules in place to manage the asylum system so we can close hotels.”

We have an early steer on what Yvette Cooper will outline today as MPs return to Westminster after the summer break.

The Home Secretary will set out planned changes to the refugee family reunion process to give “greater fairness and balance”.

She will say the National Crime Agency (NCA) led 347 disruptions of immigration crime networks in 2024/25 – the highest level on record and a 40 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

That included 56 of the highest-impact disruptions, while NCA-backed efforts in Europe have squeezed the supply of boats and engines destined for the French coast, with 45 dinghies seized in operations at the Bulgarian border in July and August.

Officials believe that contributed the lowest number of boats crossing the Channel in the month of August since 2019, with 55 making the crossing, according to the latest figures.

Good morning.

A lot is happening today in the world of politics as MPs arrive back in Westminster for the first time since July.

We are expecting home secretary Yvette Cooper to highlight the Government’s plans for reforms to the immigration system and border security. She is also due to highlight some of Labour’s successes in tackling border crossings after August saw the lowest number of people arriving on boats over the English Channel since 2021.

The Court of Appeal is also due to hand down its full verdict on the The Bell Hotel case in Epping, Essex. The decision at the end of last week overturned a High Court ruling temporarily banning the housing of asylum seekers at the hotel, which has been the scene of major protests over the summer.

Follow here for live updates all day.