The Independent solicits donations to fund on-the-ground reporting across issues including reproductive rights, climate change and Big Tech while maintaining no paywalls. Kemi Badenoch urged Conservative councils to challenge the use of so-called asylum hotels, recommending actions similar to Epping Forest District Council where legally supported. Critics labelled the move hypocritical and desperate, pointing to more than 400 asylum hotels used at the peak under the Conservative government. Official figures dating from December 2022 show a peak of 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels at the end of September 2023. Essex council secured a temporary High Court injunction blocking use of Epping's Bell Hotel.
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Kemi Badenoch has been branded a hypocrite for calling for Conservative councils to challenge the use of so-called asylum hotels in their local areas. The Tory leader said in a letter on Wednesday that she was encouraging councils to take the same steps as Epping Forest District Council if your legal advice supports it. But the move has been criticised as desperate and hypocritical nonsense, given the Conservative's own record with asylum hotels.
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