Government takes first step in appealing court ruling banning asylum seekers from Epping hotel
The government has taken the first step in appealing a court’s decision that asylum seekers cannot be housed in an Essex hotel.
The Home Office is seeking permission to intervene in the case, which, if granted, will allow it to appeal the interim judgment handed down last week.
Epping Forest District Council sought an interim High Court injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated at The Bell Hotel in Epping, which is owned by Somani Hotels Limited.
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Councils vs migrant hotels: What next?
The interim injunction demanded the hotel be cleared of its occupants within 14 days.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary block, but extended the time limit by which it must stop housing asylum seekers to 12 September.
Somani Hotels will now appeal against the court order blocking the use of the hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers, the company’s solicitors have said.
Meanwhile, security minister Dan Jarvis said on Friday that closing hotels housing asylum seekers must be done “in a managed and ordered way” as he unveiled government plans to challenge the High Court’s decision.
He told broadcasters: “This government will close all asylum hotels and we will clear up the mess that we inherited from the previous government.
“We’ve made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way.
“And that’s why we’ll appeal this decision.”
An analysis by Sky News has found 18 other councils are also actively pursuing or considering similar legal challenges to block asylum hotels – including Labour-run Tamworth and Wirral.
Disquiet with the use of asylum hotels is at a high after the latest statistics showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers currently staying in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office.
The number of small boat crossings in the Channel is also up 38% on the previous 12 months.
Following the Epping case, a wave of protests is expected outside of asylum hotels across the country in the coming days.
Stand Up To Racism is preparing to hold counter-protests outside the asylum hotels on Friday, including in Bournemouth, Cardiff and Leeds, with further demonstrations expected on Saturday.
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‘We can’t take them’: Wirral residents on migration
In its case, Epping Forest District Council argued that the owners of the Bell Hotel did not have planning permission to use the premises to accommodate asylum seekers.
It argued that the injunction was needed amid “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption” in connection with the accommodation.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the people of Epping who protested and its council have “led the way”, writing in The Telegraph that “our country’s patience has snapped”.
His Conservative colleague Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said on Thursday that people have “every right” to protest over asylum hotels in their areas.
Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, has urged councils to explore legal challenges – with Conservative-run Broxbourne Council announcing that it would do so.
Read more:
A council-by-council breakdown of asylum seekers in hotels
Who says what on asylum hotels?
Labour smell dirty tricks over asylum hotel court ruling
Hillingdon Council, which is also controlled by the Tories, also said it was exploring its options.
Meanwhile, former Reform chairman Zia Yusuf told Sky News three councils run by his party had the power to mount legal challenges.
He said West Northamptonshire, which Reform seized control of in May’s local elections, would be doing so.
In a further headache for Sir Keir Starmer, Labour-controlled councils are also considering legal action, including Wirral and Tamworth.
Paula Basnett, the Labour leader of Wirral council, said: “We are actively considering all options available to us to ensure that any use of hotels or other premises in Wirral is lawful and does not ride roughshod over planning regulations or the wishes of our communities.”
Carol Dean, the Labour leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said she understood the “strong feelings” of residents about the use of a local hotel to house asylum seekers, and added: “We are closely monitoring developments and reviewing our legal position”.
Labour-controlled Stevenage council added: “The council takes breaches of planning control seriously and we’re actively investigating alleged breaches relating to the operation of hotels in Stevenage.”
Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman intensified chatter about a 2026 Senate run by posting a video days after Senator Cynthia Lummis announced she will not seek reelection.
The five-second clip shows the congresswoman alongside a single-word caption: “Soon.” It breaks a months‑long lull on her account and bolsters speculation that she is eyeing Lummis’ open seat.
Wyoming’s Senate seat has been a reliable voice in advancing regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, from market structure bills and stablecoin regulation to banking access. Whoever replaces Lummis will help decide whether crypto keeps a dedicated champion in the Senate.
A crypto ally steps down
Lummis is expected to retire at the end of her term, removing one of the digital‑asset industry’s most outspoken allies from the Senate just as lawmakers edge toward potential votes on landmark market‑structure legislation.
Lummis has built a national profile as a reliable pro‑crypto voice, embracing Bitcoin early and co‑sponsoring legislative efforts widely viewed to advance the blockchain industry, including the Responsible Financial Innovation Act and the ongoing US Clarity Act.
Her pending exit leaves the industry without a guaranteed champion in a chamber that has become increasingly central to decisions on trading‑platform oversight, stablecoin rules and banking access for crypto firms.
Related: Crypto community ‘very sorry’ over Senator Lummis’ reelection decision
Hageman’s record and crypto’s hopes
As Wyoming’s at‑large House member, she has so far focused on broader conservative themes like parental rights in education, opposition to federal overreach and backing pro‑fossil fuel energy policies, while aligning herself with President Donald Trump. A Senate campaign would test how much she is willing to lean into Lummis’ crypto legacy alongside those priorities.
Wyoming’s crypto community is already nudging her in that direction. Caitlin Long, founder of Custodia Bank and a key architect of the state’s blockchain‑friendly laws, praised Hageman as “salt of the earth.” Long was reacting to news of Hageman’s expected entry in the race.
Related: Crypto among sectors ‘debanked’ by 9 major banks: US regulator
Long’s backing effectively introduces Hageman to crypto audiences as the preferred successor, even though the House member has not yet made digital assets a signature focus.
Wyoming’s 2026 Senate race is now poised to double as a test of whether the state wants to preserve its identity as home to the Senate’s most visible crypto advocate, or fold digital asset policy into a broader Trump‑era Republican agenda.
Bybit will begin phasing out services for residents of Japan from 2026, introducing gradual account restrictions as it moves to comply with the country’s regulatory requirements, the cryptocurrency exchange said on Monday.
The exchange said users classified as Japanese residents will be subject to the restrictions on a rolling basis, while those incorrectly flagged have been asked to complete additional identity checks. Bybit is not registered with Japan’s Financial Services Agency, which requires crypto exchanges serving Japanese users to hold local approval.
“If you’re a resident of Japan, please note that starting from 2026 your account will be subject to gradual restrictions. You’ll receive additional updates on the remediation process in subsequent communications,” the exchange said in an announcement on Monday.
Bybit often ranks as the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume. At the time of writing, it processed about $4.3 billion in trades in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
Related: Japan plans tough new rules for crypto exchanges: What liability reserves actually mean
Bybit halts new user registrations
The announcement follows earlier steps taken by Bybit to limit its exposure to Japan. In October, the exchange said it would pause new user registrations in Japan, citing ongoing discussions with the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).
In February, the FSA asked Apple and Google to suspend downloads of five unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bybit, MEXC Global, LBank Exchange, KuCoin and Bitget.
Japan maintains one of the world’s strictest crypto oversight regimes. In July, Maksym Sakharov, co-founder and CEO of decentralized onchain bank WeFi, told Cointelegraph that Japan’s regulatory bottleneck is pushing innovation out of the country.
Bybit did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by press time.
Related: Japan’s new crypto tax could wake ‘sleeping giant’ of retail investors
Bybit reenters the UK
Meanwhile, Bybit is reentering the UK market after a two-year pause with a new platform offering spot trading and a peer-to-peer service, operating under a promotions arrangement approved by Archax rather than its own UK registration.
Last month, Bybit also secured a Virtual Asset Platform Operator License from the Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates, eight months after receiving an in-principle approval from the local regulator.
Magazine: 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto — Canton, Zcash and more
A millionaires’ playground, Poole in Dorset boasts some of the most expensive properties in the UK, and has been called Britain’s Palm Beach.
Away from the yachts and the mansions of Sandbanks, however, Poole is also a beer drinkers’ paradise, with 58 pubs in the parliamentary constituency alone.
But now many of Dorset’s pub landlords have joined a bitter backlash against rises in business rates of up to £30,000 in Rachel Reeves’s November budget.
Across the UK, it is claimed up to 1,000 publicans have even banned Labour MPs from their pubs, after the chancellor axed a 40% rates discount, introduced during COVID, from next April.
The row over the rises, brewing since the budget, came to a head in a clash between Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer in the final Prime Minister’s Questions of 2025.
“He gave his word that he would help pubs,” said the Tory leader.
“Yet they face a 15% rise in business rates because of his budget. Will he be honest and admit that his taxes are forcing pubs to close?”
The PM replied that the temporary relief introduced during COVID – a scheme the Conservatives put in place and Labour supported, he said – had come to an end.
“But it was always a temporary scheme coming to an end,” he said.
“We have now put in place a £4bn transitional relief.”
Mark and Michael Ambrose, father and son co-landlords of The Barking Cat, said the increases are a ‘pub destroyer’
But in the Barking Cat Ale House in Poole, facing an increase in business rates of nearly £9,000 a year, the father and son co-landlords fear the rises could mean last orders for many pubs.
“We’re sort of in the average area at 157%, but we’ve got a lot of local pubs that are increasing by 600%, and another one by 800%,” Ambrose senior, Mark, told Sky News.
“It’s a pub destroyer. Pubs can’t survive these kinds of increases. It’s not viable. Most pubs are just about scraping by anyway. If you add these massive increases your profit margins are wiped out.
“We struggle as it is. You can’t have that kind of increase and expect businesses to succeed.
“Fortunately, the customers understand. But they still don’t want to have to spend an extra 30 or 50 pence a pint.”
Son Michael added: “It’s all back to front. It’s really these bigger pub companies and supermarkets that need to be facing increased taxes. We can’t handle them. They can.”
Michelle Smith, landlady of the Poole Arms, the oldest pub on the town’s quay, dating back to 1635, said: “Our rates per value is due to go up £9,000 in April, so it’s quite a deal.”
Michelle Smith, landlady of The Poole Arms, said all her prices are going up
“And we had a rates increase just gone as well,” she added. “So our rates had already increased over £1,000 a month last April. So another hit is quite considerable really.
“Prices definitely have to go up with all the different price increases that we’ve got throughout: business rates, wage increases, the beer goes up from the breweries. Everything is going up.”
Backing the publicans, Neil Duncan-Jordan, who became Poole’s first ever Labour MP last year, has written to the chancellor demanding a rethink. He said he is prepared to vote against the tax rise in the Commons.
“They’ve got to listen,” he told Sky News.
“They’ve got to listen to the high street, to publicans, people who run social clubs and listen to problems that they’re facing and the impact that these changes have made.”
Mr Duncan-Jordan said he was prepared to support an amendment to the Finance Bill, which turns the budget into law and had its second reading in the Commons last week.
Despite being suspended for four months for rebelling against welfare cuts earlier this year, he said: “I was discussing this with some MPs just this morning and I’ll be happy to support those. Sometimes you just have to say what you think is right.”
As chancellor, Ms Reeves has regularly raised a glass to pubs and promised to protect them from rising costs.
But Sir Keir has faced the wrath of a publican before, when he was thrown out of a pub in Bath during COVID by an anti-lockdown landlord.
This time, without a U-turn by the chancellor on the business rates increases, pub landlords fear the government has them over a barrel.
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