Dr Neil Hudson made the comments in Parliament following the mistaken release of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an asylum seeker who was housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping and convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Kebatu was jailed in September but mistakenly released from prison and later re-detained.
He was speaking after a High Court ruling that the Bell Hotel can continue to be used for asylum accommodation after Epping Forest District Council failed to secure a High Court injunction to stop this.
Dr Hudson said: “Mr Speaker, recent events and today’s court ruling bring to the surface again the anxiety for our Epping community.
“My thoughts remain with the victims, including the 14-year-old Epping school girl.
“Appallingly, they and their families heard about this wrongful prisoner release from media instead of the Government.
“It is frankly astonishing the Government are only using their levers of power in the courts to overturn this case brought by the council but are not using their powers to address the issues in the frontline—the illegal immigration crisis, the mistaken release of convicted prisoners, and the serious management and safeguarding issues associated with the Bell Hotel, which needs to close urgently.
“When will Government get a grip, realise that they are not political commentators but players on the pitch, and use their powers to tackle these issues once and for all?”
The council was granted a temporary injunction earlier this year following protests outside the hotel, which would have stopped 138 asylum seekers being housed there beyond September 12.
But this was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August, which found the decision to be “seriously flawed”.
The council sought a permanent injunction through a three-day hearing last month.
The hotel was reopened for asylum use by the Labour Government, despite previous closure by the Conservative administration.
Dr Hudson has repeatedly called for its closure, raising the issue in Parliament in July, September, and again following Kebatu’s mistaken release in October.
He said: “This Government need to realise immediately they are players on the pitch, not mere political commentators.
“Today’s High Court ruling was a classic example of this Government using their levers of power when it suits them, and not doing what is needed in the frontline by dealing with the illegal immigration crisis, the mistaken release of convicted prisoners, and closing the Bell Hotel.
“I am adamant that this Government must get a grip immediately and do the right and safe thing by closing the Bell Hotel as a matter of urgency.”
Dr Hudson has also written to ministers including Dame Angela Eagle and Alex Norris, requesting urgent meetings about the hotel.
He has called for alternative arrangements alongside MP Sir Alex Burghart, Epping Forest District Council, and Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst.
Public protests have taken place outside the hotel since July, some of which have turned violent, resulting in injury to police officers and damage to police vehicles.
Despite the High Court decision, Dr Hudson has renewed his call for urgent Government action to close the hotel in the interest of community safety.
He said he will continue to press the issue to ensure the concerns of Epping residents are addressed.
