A hotel at the centre of anti-immigration protests will be able to continue housing asylum seekers after judges overturned a decision that would have seen it close within a fortnight.
In a major hearing today, the Court of Appeal set aside an injunction granted earlier this month which would have stopped 138 asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex beyond September 12.
The judges also ruled that the Home Office could intervene in the case, in a significant victory for the Government.
Lawyers for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had argued that shutting the hotel would set a 'dangerous precedent' that would have encouraged similar litigation by other councils.
Last week, the High Court ruled that all 138 asylum seekers at the hotel should be temporarily removed following legal action brought by Epping Forest District Council.
