The line between demonstration and disorder dissolved quickly.
In the market town of Epping last July, a lawful gathering outside a hotel housing asylum seekers crossed a threshold that communities and courts must reckon with: the point at which collective grievance becomes collective violence. Two local men, Lee Gower and Phillip Curson, have now been found guilty of violent disorder by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court, their claims of self-defence rejected as insufficient to explain their part in what prosecutors described as an aggressive mob. Their convictions are among many emerging from a summer in which the tension between public anger and public order played out on streets across England.
- A protest of 400 to 500 people outside the Bell Hotel in Epping unravelled into serious disorder when counter-protesters arrived and the cordon separating the two groups began to buckle.
- Bottles, flour and milk were thrown at officers, police vehicles were damaged, and the crowd turned on both police and counter-demonstrators in scenes described to the court as punching, kicking and shoving.
- Both defendants argued their actions were proportionate self-defence in a chaotic confrontation — a case the jury heard but ultimately refused to accept.
- Gower and Curson were convicted of violent disorder on Friday, joining six others who had already pleaded guilty before the trial; sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
- Their convictions form part of a widening legal reckoning with the disorder that swept protest sites across England in the summer of 2025, with more cases still moving through the courts.
By mid-afternoon on 17 July last year, several hundred people had gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. The protest had its roots in the case of Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl shortly after arriving in the UK by small boat. Kebatu was later convicted of five offences and jailed; he was also wrongfully released from prison in October before being detained and deported to Ethiopia.
The atmosphere outside the hotel shifted sharply around 5.30pm when approximately 50 counter-protesters arrived at Epping station and were escorted toward the venue by police. As officers tried to hold a cordon between the two groups, parts of the crowd began running to intercept them. What had begun as a demonstration became, in the words of the prosecution, an aggressive mob — throwing bottles, milk and flour at officers, attacking police with their own shields, and damaging vehicles.
Among those present were Lee Gower, 43, from Epping, and Phillip Curson, 53, from Upminster. Both were charged with violent disorder. Their respective defences argued that each man had acted in self-defence during a confrontation in which police were also pushing protesters back. Gower was acquitted of a separate charge of assaulting an officer, but the jury at Chelmsford Crown Court rejected both self-defence arguments and found the men guilty of violent disorder on Friday. Six others had already pleaded guilty to the same charge before the trial began.
Sentencing has not yet been fixed. The convictions are part of a broader wave of prosecutions arising from disorder at protest sites across England during the summer of 2025 — a legal reckoning that, for those involved in the events at the Bell Hotel, is not yet over.
By mid-afternoon on July 17 last year, a crowd of between 400 and 500 people had gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. The protest had begun quietly enough — locals and others assembling in response to the case of Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who had arrived in the UK on a small boat just days before being charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. What followed would leave the town in chaos and, eventually, two men facing a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Kebatu was later convicted of five offences, including sexual assault, at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and was jailed. His case had already drawn repeated demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel over the summer. The situation took a further turn when he was wrongfully released from HMP Chelmsford in October, though he was subsequently detained and deported to Ethiopia later that same month.
On the afternoon of July 17, the mood outside the hotel shifted around 5.30pm, when roughly 50 counter-protesters arrived at Epping station and were escorted by police toward the venue. As officers moved to keep the two groups apart with a cordon, protesters began running up the road to intercept them. The line between demonstration and disorder dissolved quickly.
Chief Inspector Stuart Austin of Essex Police described the scene to the court: bottles, milk and flour were hurled at officers, people attacked police with shields, and vehicles had their windscreens struck and wing mirrors wrenched off. The prosecutor, Sam Willis, told jurors the crowd had become an aggressive mob engaged in punching, kicking, throwing and shoving — targeting police officers, police vehicles, and at times the counter-protesters themselves.
Among those present were Lee Gower, 43, from Epping, and Phillip Curson, 53, from Upminster in east London. Both were charged with violent disorder. Six other individuals had already pleaded guilty to the same charge in connection with the events of that day before the trial began.
Gower's defence argued he had attended the protest over what his barrister called a specific and legitimate concern, and that he had acted as a responsible member of his community. His lawyer told the jury that when Gower pushed back against an officer, it was a proportionate act of self-defence after being shoved first. Gower was acquitted of a separate charge of assaulting a police officer. Curson's defence similarly pointed to footage it said showed officers pushing local protesters back after the counter-demonstrators arrived, arguing that Curson's actions — pushing a police officer in the heat of the confrontation — amounted to self-defence and defence of others.
The jury at Chelmsford Crown Court rejected both defences. On Friday, Gower and Curson were found guilty of violent disorder. A sentencing date has not yet been fixed.
The convictions add to a growing tally of prosecutions stemming from disorder that erupted at protest sites across England in the summer of 2025, as communities reacted to a series of high-profile criminal cases involving asylum seekers. With sentencing still to come for Gower and Curson, and the broader legal fallout from that summer still working its way through the courts, the Bell Hotel protests are far from the last chapter.
Citações Notáveis
Although the protest began peacefully, it became violent — these defendants are alleged to have been part of an aggressive mob that resorted to repeated acts of violence and vandalism, turning the town of Epping into a scene of disorder and chaos.— Prosecutor Sam Willis, Chelmsford Crown Court
Gower went to the protest about a very specific and very valid issue, as a pillar of the community.— Tony Wyatt, defence barrister for Lee Gower
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What actually triggered the protests at the Bell Hotel in the first place?
A specific criminal case. An asylum seeker named Hadush Kebatu had arrived in the UK on a small boat and within days was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. That was the spark.
And he was eventually convicted?
He was — five offences in total, including the sexual assault, at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. He was jailed, then wrongfully released from prison in October, then re-detained and deported to Ethiopia.
So the protests weren't just abstract — there was a real case underneath them.
Right. Which is part of what made the defence arguments interesting. Gower's barrister described him as a pillar of the community attending over a very specific, very valid concern. The jury still convicted him.
What does the violence actually look like, based on the evidence?
Bottles, flour, milk thrown at officers. Shields used as weapons. Windscreens hit, wing mirrors torn off police vehicles. And physical attacks — punching, kicking, shoving — aimed mostly at police but sometimes at counter-protesters too.
How large was the crowd?
Between 400 and 500 people at the protest itself. Around 50 counter-protesters arrived later and were escorted by police — that's when things broke down.
Both defendants claimed self-defence. Is that a common argument in these cases?
It comes up often. The difficulty is that once a cordon breaks and a crowd turns violent, individual acts become hard to isolate. The jury here decided the context — a mob engaged in widespread disorder — outweighed the self-defence framing.
Eight people convicted in total from that one afternoon?
Six guilty pleas before trial, then Gower and Curson convicted by the jury. So yes, eight so far, with sentencing still to come for the two who went to trial.