UK vows to speed up asylum claims as hotel protests spread

LONDON: The UK government vowed Sunday to overhaul its asylum system after weekend protests broke out across the country at hotels housing migrants.

The government said it will establish a new independent body to hear appeals by failed applicants more quickly as it attempts to end the costly use of asylum hotels, which have become the target of protests.

The protests began outside a hotel in Epping, southeast England, after one resident was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

The Labour government said on Friday it would appeal a court ruling blocking it from housing asylum seekers at the hotel.

The ruling triggered the announcement of protests and counter-protests outside hotels accommodating asylum seekers around the country.