Tomás Ó Flatharta

We are used to NIMBY (Not in my back-yard) racists in Ireland attacking asylum-seekers and refugees in vulnerable accommodation. This political plague is currently sweeping across the British State. An Epping Forest Judge, Mr Stephen Eyre, has political form in the six-county bit of Ireland

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Judge in Epping Forest asylum hotel case ran for Tories in NI poll

Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, August 22nd, 2025

A judge behind a landmark ruling on hotels accommodating asylum seekers in the UK once stood for election in Northern Ireland.

Stephen Eyre’s ruling on the legality of The Bell Hotel’s eligibility to house asylum seekers has sparked a wave of complaints to local authorities across the UK, including three councils in Northern Ireland.

The action, taken by Epping Forest District Council against Somani Hotels, alleged the group had not notified the local planning authority of a change of use for the premises.

Mr Eyre is a former election candidate for the Conservative Party, standing in Birmingham Hodge Hill in 1987, Stourbridge in 2001 and again in a 2004 by-election in Birmingham Hodge Hill.

In the 1992 General Election, he stood in Strangford as the Conservatives attempted to gain a foothold in Northern Ireland.

Among the field who stood against Mr Eyre was current South Antrim MP Sammy Wilson, the Alliance Party’s Kieran McCarthy and David Shaw of the Natural Law Party.

The seat was won by John Taylor — now Lord Kilclooney — who had almost 9,000 votes to spare over Mr Wilson. Stephen Eyre finished second-bottom in the poll with 6,782 votes.

Prior to the polls opening, a Sunday Life preview featuring odds provided by Eastwood bookmakers rated the Conservative candidate’s chances as 100/1.

Extracts from the News Letter quoted Mr Eyre saying a Labour government would be a “disaster for Northern Ireland” and revealed his opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

“The electorate here have not been presented with a full integrationist policy before,” he said.

“I believe the best weapon we have against the IRA is to fully integrate the Province into the United Kingdom, thereby sending a message to the terrorists that not only are they without hope of victory but they are further away than ever from achieving their goal.”

Further articles also suggest Mr Eyre was standing on Euro-sceptic policies, with the News Letter reporting: “Stephen Eyre, Conservative, Strangford, welcomed the firm stand taken by John Major over Europe, saying he had made a resolute defence of UK interests.

“Labour and the Liberal Democrats would hand power over to foreigners and it was essential that the Conservatives be returned to power.”

Despite a last-minute attempt by the Home Office last week to have the Epping Forest case dismissed, Judge Eyre imposed an injunction preventing the hotel from housing the asylum seekers.

In his judgment, he said: “Although the defendant’s [Somani Hotels Limited] actions were not flagrant or surreptitious they were deliberate.

“The defendant acted in good faith but chose to take its stand on the position that there was no material change of use.

“The defendant did so in the knowledge the claimant, as local planning authority, took a different view and believed that permission was necessary.

“It thereby sidestepped the public scrutiny and explanation which would otherwise have taken place if an application for planning permission or for a certificate of lawful use had been made.”

The Home Office had previously warned the decision would “substantially impact” its ability to house asylum seekers in hotels across the UK.

Source :
Judge in Epping Forest Asylum Hotel Case ran for Tories in NI Poll