A group of masked men attempted to break into an asylum hotel in west London on Saturday afternoon after an anti-migrant march.
Five people were arrested after the demonstrations, which took place outside three hotels in West Drayton in the London Borough of Hillingdon — the Crowne Plaza, Novotel and Holiday Inn.
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The Metropolitan Police said the arrests were made after two anti-migrant groups marched to the Crowne Plaza, near Heathrow airport, although the individuals were unable to gain entry to the hotel.
The Met said: “A group of masked men attempted to enter the hotel via the rear entrance, damaging the security hoarding. Officers were already in attendance and extra officers were deployed to assist.”
Some of the crowd then moved towards the Novotel and the Holiday Inn hotels.
Officers enforced cordons in the area to prevent a breach of the peace and three arrests were made, police said.
About 500 people took part in the protests, which were dispersed by police
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Two officers suffered minor injuries and two more arrests were made as police dispersed the crowd, the Met added.
A Section 35 dispersal order was put in place, allowing officers to direct people to leave the area and not return if they suspect they may cause disorder, police said.
Commander Adam Slonecki, in charge of policing London this weekend, said: “Around 500 protesters were in the area, but most people have now dispersed from the immediate vicinity. However, further arrests will be made if we need to tackle disorder.
“Five arrests have been made for offences including assault on a police officer, affray and violent disorder. We understand the strength of feeling on these issues, but where peaceful protest crosses the line into criminality, including injuries to our officers, we will take immediate action.”
Essex police have also put a dispersal order in place as well as an order giving officers the power to force the removal of face coverings before possible protests in Epping, after the Court of Appeal overturned an injunction ordering the removal of 138 asylum seekers from the town’s Bell Hotel.
Glen Pavelin, an assistant chief constable, said: “We never take the decision to impose restrictions on members of the public lightly.
“However, we must guard against the impact of antisocial behaviour on our community and these orders will give us extra powers to deal with that should it become necessary to do so.”
Three men were arrested in Epping on Friday after police officers were injured during a protest outside the Bell Hotel.
Epping Forest district council said it would consider taking its challenge to the Supreme Court in order to move migrants out of the Bell Hotel. At least 13 other local authorities are planning their own legal action to close down asylum seeker hotels in their areas.
The dispersal order in Epping will remain in place until 4am on Sunday.