‘This is a powder keg situation,’ says council leaderpublished at 14:48 British Summer Time

14:48 BST

A police officer in black and a yellow high-vis jacket stands next to a blue sign reading "The Bell Hotel - restaurant and bar banqueting suite and conference rooms". There are a group of people huddled in the background and a police van in the background.Image source, PA Media

Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping, and Alex Burghart, the Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, have called for The Bell Hotel to be closed due to the disorder.

Chris Whitbread, the Tory leader of Epping Forest District Council, has described it as a “powder keg” situation.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire, external, he said: “Fair-minded people within the local community, initially protesting peacefully, want the hotel closed.

“I have to say, as the leader of the council, that’s always been my position and the council’s position. This is just not a suitable location. The sooner it’s dealt with, the better.”

He said he sympathised with the “vulnerable” asylum seekers at the hotel but stressed locations that had “less impact on established communities” needed to be found by the Home Office.