Police have denied “bussing claims” after officers escorted anti-racist protesters to a taxpayer-funded hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping. Essex Police said it provided a “foot cordon” for protesters but said claims officers “bussed” counter-demonstrators to the Bell Hotel were “categorically wrong”.

Footage from the scenes after the second protest on Thursday 17 July shows rioters attacking police vans, with one man appearing to be struck by a vehicle that was attempting to navigate the crowds. Eight police officers were injured following what again started as a peaceful protest outside the hotel.