New incidents occurred last Sunday night at a gathering in front of a hotel temporarily housing asylum seekers in Epping, a northeastern district of London, with some of the protesters hurling objects at law enforcement forces.

One person was taken into custody, police said, following the demonstration involving hundreds of people. Some of the protesters threw bottles and smoke bombs at police vehicles that had blocked the road to the hotel, according to British news agency PA Media.

“Save our children,” “send them home,” they chanted as they gathered. “Expel foreign criminals,” “defend our daughters,” read placards held up.

The riots erupted days after an asylum seeker, 38, was prosecuted on charges of sexual assault. He tried to hug and kiss a 14-year-old girl, which he denied when he appeared in court on Thursday.

Eight police officers were injured in a violent incident Thursday night. Early yesterday afternoon, a 33-year-old man was charged with engaging in violent rioting after he participated in a similar gathering.

These tensions are reminiscent of the anti-immigrant riots in the country in the summer of 2024, following the murder of three girls in Southport (northwest) who were stabbed to death by a teenage boy. The perpetrator was eventually found to be British.

Rioters had raided hotels where asylum seekers were staying in several cities and had attempted to set fire to one such accommodation facility in Rotherham, in northeast England.