Refugee Action has responded to a High Court injunction that blocks people seeking asylum from being put in the Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex.

“Ministers’ priority must be to make sure people seeking asylum are housed in dignity and kept safe from the relentless threat of violence and harassment by the far-right and opportunist politicians.

“The policy of paying private firms billions of pounds to house people in hotels has worsened the housing crisis and scapegoated refugees in the process.

“This money could have been put towards tackling the wider housing crisis and buying and building new social homes in which all people in our communities could live, including refugees.

“Governments have a legal and moral duty to make sure all people in communities are safe and have a roof over their head.

“This includes refugees who have fled some of the most violent and oppressive countries in the world, most of which were once part of the British Empire.”