A council is "pursuing legal action" against the Home Office after a four-star hotel in London was turned into asylum seeker accommodation with just "three days' notice". Migrants were moved into the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf in early August, following weeks of protests across the country after an asylum seeker from Ethiopa was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl days after arriving in the UK. Tower Hamlets Council said at the time that they were aware of the Government's decision to use the hotel as temporary migrant accommodation, but a councillor has now confirmed that the local authority is "pursuing legal action" over the change of use.

"On July 18, the council was given just three days' notice that the hotel was to become a hostel for recently arrived immigrants," Conservative councillor Peter Gold told the Express. "There was no liaison or consultation involving the council, let alone residents. This required a change of use which had not been applied for. Residents repeatedly raised this and we are delighted that the council is pursuing this legally."

A spokesperson for the council confirmed that a planning contravention notice (PCN) had been lodged against the Government and the hotel operator, requisitioning information about a breach of planning controls that could be used to inform further legal action.

"The council can only act on planning matters if either a planning application is submitted or a complaint is made," they said. "In this case, a complaint was submitted and is now being investigated in line with our established procedures. As part of the investigation, a PCN has been issued. We are also seeking reassurance from the hotel operator and Government."

An enforcement notice against the Home Office's asylum hotel provider Clearsprings and the Britannia Hotel Group was lodged on Tower Hamlets' planning register in August, with a compliance date of August 8. It has not been confirmed whether the concerned parties complied with the PCN before the deadline.

It comes as other councils across Britain also press ahead with legal challenges to the use of hotels for asylum seeker accommodation. Reports suggest that at least 13 councils are planning to pursue legal action despite the overturning of a temporary injunction preventing the use of The Bell Hotel in Essex from housing migrants last month.

Epping Forest District Council secured a temporary injunction preventing 138 asylum seekers from staying at the three-star hotel in August, but it was overturned by the Court of Appeal just weeks later. A fresh legal challenge will be heard on October 15.

The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels rose slightly to 32,059 in the year to June, according to Home Office data, with a record 111,000 asylum applications made during the same period - a 14% rise from the previous year.

A Government spokesperson said: "As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on communities.

"We are working with local authorities, property partners and across government to accelerate this. But safety will always be a top priority and any asylum accommodation must first undergo strict inspections. We will set out more detail in due course."

The Britannia Hotel Group has been contacted for comment.