Somali migrant living at Epping hotel wins right to stay in UK, thanks Starmer

A Somali migrant living at the Bell Hotel in Epping has won the right to stay in Britain, with leave granted on humanitarian grounds and a move planned to Bradford, Yorkshire, next month. Khadar Mohamed, 24, who travelled from Somalia to Britain by small boat, will exit the Essex hotel in October as he begins the next chapter of his life in the country.

Mohamed told The Daily Mail that he had been told in the last two weeks that he had won his right to stay, and that his leave to remain was granted on human rights grounds. He said it was great news and that he would be leaving the hotel in the middle of October. "I am glad the Government has supported me. I want to thank Keir Starmer from the bottom of my heart," he told the outlet. "I believe many, many more of us will also be allowed to stay. Many in the hotel are going through the same situation and I believe they will also win."

Mohamed said he hoped to contribute to British society and stressed that his success did not reflect poorly on others in similar situations. "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 said. He added that there could be a broader shift in public opinion, with growing acceptance of people who want to build a new life in the UK.

The case sits within a broader fight over asylum policies in Britain. The government has championed a plan to deport some asylum seekers to France under a controversial bilateral deal, a scheme that faced legal hurdles and was blocked by court challenges at the last minute. Critics have argued that such arrangements have failed in practice and have wasted taxpayers’ money on costly procedures that produce little durable results. Mohamed said the plan must be implemented properly and that, in his view, the existing approach to removals has not worked: "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."

The timing of Mohamed’s asylum decision comes amid ongoing legal and political scrutiny of removals. A separate case in which an Eritrean asylum seeker challenged a removal to France reached the High Court, with the claimant obtaining an interim injunction that blocked deportation for 14 days. The claimant, who was granted anonymity by the court, argued that being sent back to France would leave him destitute. The injunction followed two failed deportation flights that had been scheduled as part of the government’s France deal, underscoring the legal uncertainty surrounding the policy.

Outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, protests against housing migrants at the site have persisted. Local opponents have argued that the hotel’s use as a shelter for asylum seekers has brought disruption to the area, while supporters note the need to provide asylum processing and safe accommodation. The situation has continued to draw attention across the region, with Epping District Council planning to take its case to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary High Court injunction that would have required the residents to leave by September 12.

The Home Office declined to comment on Mohamed’s case. In the meantime, his move to Bradford signals a personal turning point amid a broader, contentious national debate over how Britain handles asylum seekers, the speed of removals, and the balance between humanitarian obligations and immigration controls. Mohamed’s remarks that he loves Britain and that people should remain calm reflect a broader wish among some migrants to be seen as contributors rather than problems, even as others argue that structural changes are needed to the policy framework governing asylum in the UK.