Baroness Laing of Elderslie (Con)

My Lords, I declare an interest: I live very close to the town of Epping, having served as the Member of Parliament for the Epping Forest constituency for 27 years until last summer. It has long been recognised that the Bell Hotel in Epping is not a good place for asylum seekers to be housed. I am sure that the Minister will recall that the then Conservative Home Secretary closed that hotel in April 2024 and the asylum seekers were dispersed to other places. The Minister’s colleagues then reopened the hotel without any consultation with the district council, which is somewhat unfortunate. However, I join with the Minister in thanking Essex Police for the way they are dealing with this very difficult situation. It should be noted, among the misinformation that is out there, that both of the men who have been accused of serious crimes are now in custody awaiting trial—our justice system is working. Does the Minister agree with me that it is the duty of all elected representatives, regardless of which party they represent, to do their best to encourage community cohesion and to calm down a potentially riotous situation? The Minister said about as much in the past few minutes. The considerable amount of misinformation being spread by a particular political party is unfortunate and working against community cohesion. Will the Minister join with me in calling everyone involved in the situation in the Epping Forest area, and across Essex, to stop inciting violence, to call for calm and to think of the vulnerable people whom we should all be protecting?