Judge in case of two families housed for years in single hotel rooms says they should have been moved within three months

The Home Office could face legal action from hundreds of asylum-seeking families stuck in single rooms in hotels after a judge criticised the “extraordinarily stressful” conditions in which they are expected to live.

In a ruling, the deputy high court judge Alan Bates questioned why two families had been forced to live in single rooms for more than three years. He said they should have been moved to alternative accommodation within three months.