A protester who demonstrated outside the Bell Hotel in Epping has been warned he faces an immediate prison sentence after admitting violent disorder.
Martin Peagram, 33, of Loughton, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court to violent disorder during protests outside the asylum seeker hotel on 27 July.
Appearing in handcuffs before Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday, Peagram was told by Judge Jamie Sawyer that “the most likely outcome” of his sentencing would be a custodial term.
The case has been adjourned until 6 October, when Peagram and other defendants involved in the Bell Hotel disorder are due to be sentenced. He was remanded in custody until that date.
Judge’s warning
Judge Sawyer said:
“Mr Peagram must understand the likely sentence will be an immediate prison sentence. I have agreed to the application for a pre-sentence report. I’m not ruling out an immediate prison sentence. The most likely outcome I’m afraid is an immediate prison sentence.”
Peagram replied, “thank you,” before being led back to the cells.
Background: protests at Bell Hotel
The Bell Hotel has been the focus of protests and counter-protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl. The defendant, Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, denies the charge and is currently on trial.
The protests coincided with legal battles over the hotel’s use to house migrants. The Court of Appeal last week overturned an injunction that would have stopped asylum seekers being housed at the site beyond 12 September, a ruling described as a “significant victory” for the Government.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s legal team argued that closing the hotel would have set a dangerous precedent. Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage both criticised the ruling, claiming it prioritised “illegal migrants” over local communities.
The Government has confirmed its plan to close all migrant hotels by 2029, stressing that move-outs must happen in a “controlled and orderly way.”
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