Somali migrant at Epping hotel wins right to stay in UK, says many more will follow

A Somali migrant living at the Bell Hotel in Epping has won the right to stay in Britain on human rights grounds and will leave the Essex hotel in October to relocate to Bradford, after winning his asylum bid.

Khadar Mohamed, 24, arrived in Britain from Somalia on a small boat and has told local media that many others will follow. The Home Office declined to comment on the decision.

Mohamed told The Daily Mail that he wants to work and contribute, saying, "I want to work, I want to contribute. It is not our fault. If they are not happy with the system, then it is the system which needs to change. We are not the problem." He added: "I've been told in the last two weeks that I have won my right to stay. I have been granted leave on human rights grounds." He said he believes there will be more approvals: "Many, many more of us will also be allowed to stay."

The development comes as Britain continues to grapple with the government's controversial plans to deport asylum seekers to France under a so-called 'one in, one out' scheme, which faced legal challenges and delays. Mohamed and others at the Bell Hotel have helped fuel political commentary about the policy, with Labour and the Home Office clashing over how such removals should be managed. He criticized the France deal, saying, "This scheme has not worked already. It has failed. The plan to take asylum seekers to Rwanda did not work. A lot of time and millions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being spent on this. Let us stay. I want to work and contribute." He emphasized: "We are not bad people."

In a separate legal strain on deportations, an an Eritrean migrant won a High Court case to block removal to France for 14 days. The court issued an interim injunction as the Home Office sought to remove him, delving into questions about whether the UK-France agreement could be enforced as court challenges continued. The man, who was anonymized by the judges, had been due to board the next flight at 9 a.m. on the day the injunction was granted, with the emergency hearing held late the previous afternoon.

Outside the Bell Hotel, protests have continued over the housing of asylum seekers in the building. Epping District Council has said it would appeal to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary High Court injunction that would have required the 138 residents to leave by September 12. Since the protests escalated, there have been multiple arrests in the area and ongoing demonstrations around the hotel.

Khadar Mohamed is scheduled to leave the Bell Hotel in mid-October and relocate to Bradford, Yorkshire, following his asylum decision. He told reporters that he believes Britons are coming around to accepting migrants who seek to contribute to society and that the government should focus on reform rather than punishment. The Home Office has not publicly commented on Mohamed's case, but observers say the ruling could influence future asylum adjudications in similar circumstances.