The Prime Minister has committed to closing hotels being used for asylum seeker accommodation
Helen Williams and Aine Fox, PA and Matt Lee Senior Multimedia Journalist
14:00, 04 Jan 2026
The Bell Hotel in Epping has been a focal point for protests(Image: Lucy North/PA Wire)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed Britons will start to see “evidence” of asylum hotel closures in the coming months. Sir Keir said he is “determined” to close the hotels but could not give a date for when it may happen.
Protests took place over the summer with the Bell Hotel in Epping a focal point after an asylum seeker who had arrived by small boat in the UK was temporarily housed and later charged, jailed and deported for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl. A petition last year calling on the Government to “shut the migrant hotels” and “deport illegal migrants housed there” had more than 250,000 signatures.
The Prime Minister told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme the Government had pledged to end hotel use by the end of the Parliament. He added: “I’ve said to the system, to the relevant departments, I want to see that brought forward as soon as possible, but no longer the end of Parliament.
“Bring it forward. I want us to close hotels. I think over coming months you’ll see evidence of that.”
Sir Keir said he did not want to “set a date” until “we’re absolutely sure that we can meet that date”. He added: “What I do want to say is I’m determined we’ll close them and I have pushed the departments to say I want to see that timeline brought forward. I want to see this happening more quickly, and as we turn a corner into 2026 you’ll see evidence of that.”
There were 36,273 people staying in hotel accommodation at the end of September, while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims. The latest data from the Home Office showed an increase, from 32,041 at the end of June to 36,273 at the end of September.
The number of asylum seekers in hotels peaked at 56,018 at the end of September 2023 under the then-Conservative government but dropped to a record low of 29,561 at the end of June 2024 just before the general election.