Concerns Rise Over Afghan Refugees in Bracknell

Photos on social media appeared to show people by a coach at The Grange Hotel in Bracknell, which is being used as transition accommodation for Afghan refugees. The images led to speculation about who was arriving and what was happening.

Councillor John Edwards, a Reform UK campaign manager and Sandhurst Town councillor, has asked the council for answers. He said: "I don't know who these people are, which is why I'm asking Bracknell Forest Council for clarification. Two residents have contacted me saying they witnessed a coach full of new arrivals at the hotel who they believed were all men.

"They sent me a photograph which shows the coach and a small number of men outside it.

"Taken together with their testimony, I think it is reasonable to raise the question.

"They may well be people arriving through the Afghan resettlement scheme, but we were previously told the Bracknell accommodation was for Afghan families.

"If the profile has changed to predominantly male arrivals, or the hotel is now being used for asylum seekers, I think residents are entitled to know. The residents who contacted me are particularly concerned because they have young daughters and have told me they no longer feel comfortable allowing them into town unaccompanied. That obviously has a real impact on their family life. There have also been serious reports about failures in Afghan resettlement vetting.

"The Telegraph reported allegations that former Taliban fighters and people with serious criminal histories had been accepted for resettlement, while the Daily Mail's finding that several people on the leaked relocation list had previously been rejected over violent or sexual assaults.

"I previously asked the council to seek assurances from the Home Office and MOD that nobody currently being accommodated in Bracknell, either among the new arrivals or those already here, has Taliban links or previously failed vetting because of serious violent, sexual or security concerns.

"They refused to do it, but if we are still accepting new arrivals, I think it is prudent to ask again."

The council says the photos actually show people permanently leaving the hotel to be housed elsewhere and that everyone at the site are Afghan refugees, not asylum seekers from other countries.

Susan Halliwell, chief executive, said: "People arriving in Bracknell Forest as part of the government's Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) all have indefinite leave to remain.

"None of the arrivals are illegal immigrants or asylum seekers - this is correct for all guests, past and present.

"The ARP accommodation in the borough is designated for families.

"It should be noted that some family groups can be large with multiple siblings, and they can also be intergenerational with grandparents, parents and children all arriving together in a group."

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter