Epping Protests After 2025 Sex Assaults Jailed 6 and Left Town Deeply Divided

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 2

Six people have been jailed for violent disorder after months of protests in Epping, where demonstrations erupted in July 2025 after asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu sexually assaulted a schoolgirl and a woman.
About 2,000 people attended one protest at its peak, Essex Police said, and the force estimated policing costs had reached roughly £1.7 million by October 2025 as some rallies turned chaotic.
The Bell Hotel, which housed asylum seekers from May 2020 until June 2026, has now been cleared of residents but remains closed to public bookings behind metal barriers.
Residents and business owners told the BBC the unrest left Epping more openly racist, strained neighbour relations and pushed some people to leave the town.
The episode has widened debate in Britain over housing asylum seekers in hotels, with locals split between seeing the protests as community protection and as a cover for racist intimidation.