Politics latest: Cooper pledges to end use of asylum hotels ‘for good’ after PM says he wants to close accommodation faster | Politics News

In her statement, Yvette Cooper pledges again to close all asylum hotels in the UK “for good”.

It comes after the Home Office won its appeal against the closure of the Bell Hotel in Epping for asylum seekers.

The home secretary says: “Every asylum hotel will be closed for good under this government.”

Responding is shadow home secretary Chris Philp, who points out that Cooper did not mention “even a word” about the number of people crossing the Channel.

“I wonder why that was,” he asks.

He points out that 29,003 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel this year, up 38% on the previous year.

“Things are not getting any better, they are getting worse.

“That is why there are protests across the country.”

Philp then turns to asylum hotels, claiming that in the nine months before the general election in 2024 “200 hotels were closed down”.

That included the Bell Hotel in Epping.

Since then, Philp says, the number of hotels has risen by 8%.