Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has demanded that “heads roll” at the Essex Police as the police force admitted escorting far-left groups at an anti-migrant hotel protest in Epping.
On Wednesday, Reform leader Nigel Farage shared footage which he claimed showed officers bussing radical leftists — apparently including leftist groups such as Stand Up to Racism and Antifa supporters — to the site of a protest outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, sparked after an Ethiopian migrant resident of the hotel was accused of sexually assaulting a local schoolgirl.
Commenting on the footage, Mr Farage said: “Heads must roll. There is no way the chief constable or the police and crime commissioner in Essex can stay in their posts. This is a disgrace,” adding: “There is no way chief constable BJ Harrington can stay in position.”
Mr Farage went on to assert that it was the presence of the far-left groups, which he said included masked individuals, that was the cause of the unrest seen in Epping.
Following a series of flip flops; at first out right denying it had brought the left-wing protesters to the hotel, before admitting that officers had provided an escort, the force said on Wednesday that officers provided a “foot cordon around protesters on their way to the protest, where they and others were allowed to exercise their right to protest.”
However, a police spokesman said per the BBC that Mr Farage’s assertions were “categorically wrong”, saying that vehicles were not used to bring the far-leftists to the protest but rather to take them away following the demonstration, explaining: “Later, some people who were clearly at risk of being hurt were also escorted by vehicle away from the area for their safety.”
Admitting the apparent intervention on behalf of the left-wing groups, Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “There is a duty upon policing to allow people to exercise their rights of assembly and protest. That’s a right under the Human Rights Act. People came to that of their own volition.
“They walked up to that protest and in order to ensure that we understand the threat, manage and deal with the risks… we had officers there and they would have walked alongside to make sure that they understand, can intervene and prevent and detect crime.”
Pressed by GB News’ Charlie Peters as to whether it was a wise decision for his officers to allow the left-wing groups to be brought so close to the demonstration of angered locals, Chief Constable Harrington said that it was “not for me to comment”, despite supposedly being in charge of the police force.
Mr Harrington also rejected claims that his force had provided a “higher level of protection” for the pro-migrant leftist groups, saying: “No, I don’t accept that.”
While Chief Constable Harrington stressed that his police force was impartial, the decision to selectively protect one side of the demonstrations has drawn considerable condemnation on social media, confirming what many believe to be a system of “two-tier policing” in Britain.
The police chief also said that he would not resign, saying: “The issue is not about my resignation. It is about the people of Epping.”
Harrington said that ten people have been arrested in connection with the violence surrounding the Bell Hotel protests so far. Essex Police had previously claimed that people from outside the area had come into Epping “intent on causing trouble”.
Yet initial releases of those arrested showed that most of those charged were, in fact, local to Essex. The police have so far not commented on whether the leftist groups they escorted to the protest last week were local or not.
It comes amid increasing concern that Britain may face a re-run of last year’s riots, which broke out in the wake of the mass stabbing in Southport that left three young girls dead at the hands of a second-generation migrant teen of Rwandan heritage.
Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer urged his cabinet to work to restore the “social fabric” of the country, while Deputy PM Angela Rayner admitted that immigration has had a “profound impact” on British society.
Nevertheless, the government has so far not given any indication of allowing locals to have more say over whether illegal migrants are put up in migrant hotels in their areas, with the Home Office often doing so regardless of local objections.
The protests in Epping, which have seen thousands take to the streets already, are likely to continue, with anti-grooming gang activist Tommy Robinson suggesting that he may stage a rally in the town.
Protests against migrant hotels appear to be spreading throughout the country, with demonstrations in Norfolk and London also taking place this week.
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