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  "path": "/news/migrant-crisis-essex-arsonist-asylum-seeker-ghosts",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-21T13:10:36.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "UK slams Iran's 'reckless attacks' on Diego Garcia as Tehran issues 'British lives in danger' threat",
    "Meningitis cases rise to 34 as officials rush to vaccinate thousands amid Easter spread fears",
    "Keir Starmer staves off Labour revolt after 'accidental victory' – but PM faces new crisis in weeks",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nAn Iraqi sheep farmer turned asylum seeker has been found guilty of arson after starting fires at two taxpayer-funded migrant hotels in Essex, including Epping's Bell Hotel.\n\nRawand Abdulrahman, 37, was told he will face a “substantial custodial sentence” for the acts which he had initially blamed on “ghosts”.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAbdulrahman acknowledged setting the fires at both hotels and accepted he intended to damage the mattresses but maintained he never meant for the flames to spread to the wider rooms or buildings.\n\nChelmsford Crown Court heard the fires had endangered lives.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nJurors reached their decision in under three hours after hearing evidence about blazes at the Phoenix Hotel in North Weald Bassett and the Bell Hotel in Epping. Sentencing is scheduled for next month.\n\nAbdulrahman’s defence barrister, James Cox, told the court: \"The issue is what was in Mr Rahman's mind at the time that the fires were set.\n\n“Whilst he accepts starting the fires, he doesn't accept that when doing so, he intended to endanger life or was reckless about whether life would be endangered.\"\n\nProsecutor George Penny argued that, having witnessed the devastation caused by the Phoenix Hotel fire, Abdulrahman could not have been unaware that starting a second blaze would put lives at risk.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe first blaze erupted at approximately 9pm on March 28, 2025, at the Phoenix Hotel, located five miles from Epping in North Weald.\n\nAbdulrahman set mattresses on fire in Room 9, where the beds were arranged in an L-shape.\n\nThe flames spread rapidly, ultimately consuming and destroying an entire wing of the building.\n\nTen fire engines were dispatched to tackle the inferno.\n\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * UK slams Iran's 'reckless attacks' on Diego Garcia as Tehran issues 'British lives in danger' threat\n  * Meningitis cases rise to 34 as officials rush to vaccinate thousands amid Easter spread fears\n  * Keir Starmer staves off Labour revolt after 'accidental victory' – but PM faces new crisis in weeks\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEssex Fire Service investigators later concluded the fire was deliberately started, with the left-hand mattress identified as the minimum area of origin.\n\nTheir report, completed in September, determined there had been a risk of multiple fatalities, with the fire's rapid development posing significant danger to both occupants and emergency responders.\n\nNo lives were lost, and no serious injuries occurred, thanks to staff members who swiftly activated the fire alarm system.\n\nFollowing the Phoenix Hotel incident, Abdulrahman was relocated to accommodation in Reading, Berkshire, before being transferred back to Essex and placed at the Bell Hotel in Epping.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEight days after the first fire, on the morning of April 5, he set alight both beds in Room 65, igniting flames at the head and feet of each mattress while his roommate was absent.\n\nThe blaze caused substantial damage to the room and affected part of the corridor, though the hotel's construction prevented the fire from spreading as extensively as at the Phoenix.\n\nPolice apprehended Abdulrahman at the Bell Hotel on the same day.\n\nDuring questioning, the asylum seeker suggested \"ghosts\" might have been responsible for the incidents, prompting an officer to respond: \"I'm afraid we can't arrest ghosts.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Arsonist asylum seeker blamed ghosts for fires at taxpayer-funded migrant hotels"
}