Bell Hotel protester has charges dropped after waving Union Jack flag | UK | News
A loyalist Epping protester who raised a Union flag from the town hall during an immigration hotel demonstration has had his charges dropped. Sarah White, 40, walked up the steps of Epping Forest District Council building after walking from the Bell Hotel where she gave a speech on August 31. Wearing a T-shirt that read “The only way is Epping”, he was chased away by police.
Essex Police said Ms White, of Chigwell, was arrested and later charged on suspicion of two offenses under the Public Order Act 1986; They said he was not arrested for unfurling the flag. “These matters were due to be heard at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, October 15 but have now been withdrawn,” police said.
Responding to the decision, Ms White said her treatment was “unfair”.
“I have received confirmation from the Crown Prosecution Service that no further action will be taken against me due to lack of evidence,” he said in a post on X.
“The reason there is no evidence is simple: I did not commit a crime.
“This was an unlawful attempt to intimidate and silence ordinary people who dare to speak out. It is unacceptable that dissent is met with force and fear.
“I will not be silent. I will continue to stand up for our freedoms, for women, for children and for this country.”
The Bell Hotel became the focus of many protests and counter-protests in the summer over an Ethiopian asylum seeker accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Epping in July.
EFDC’s bid to prevent the Bell Hotel from being used as accommodation for asylum seekers will be heard in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The authority’s last-ditch bid for permanent relief is expected to be heard over three days at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
At the end of August, the Court of Appeal overturned an interim injunction issued by the High Court, which meant 138 asylum seekers could not stay in the hotel after 12 September.
However, an interim injunction may still be granted to the EFDC following the hearing in London. At the beginning of September the Home Office lost its bid to postpone the entire trial for six weeks.
