Council launches wellbeing checks amid ‘witch hunt’ by vigilante group targeting refugees and asylum seekers

Emily Price 

Caerphilly Council has begun carrying out wellbeing checks amid a “witch hunt” by a vigilante group that sought out the addresses of suspected asylum seekers and called for Ukrainian refugees to be deported.

The local authority’s Deputy Leader Shayne Cooke said the council’s resettlement team has been proactively contacting individuals to offer reassurance and explain how to report hate crime or any other incidents they may experience or witness.

Cllr Cooke said: “I have been deeply concerned by the digital witch hunt that has emerged across social media channels in Caerphilly.

“Certain individuals online are sharing inaccurate information and, in many cases, appear to have a limited understanding of the situation.

“This has created a cycle where misinformation is repeated and amplified, including the sharing of incorrect addresses for supposed asylum seeker HMOs, causing unnecessary alarm and anxiety in some areas of Caerphilly.

 “In response to these concerns, the Council’s Resettlement Team has been proactively contacting all individuals we support to carry out wellbeing checks.

“These conversations are intended to provide reassurance, make clear that support is available if needed, and ensure people know how to report any hate crime or incidents they may experience or witness.

 “What some people fail to recognise is that this online witch hunt has very real-world consequences for individuals, families and the wider community.

“I understand that some residents have genuine concerns regarding public safety, but it is vital that we allow the appropriate agencies and professionals to manage the situation based on facts rather than speculation.

“Misinformation helps nobody and only serves to increase tension and division within our communities.”

The response comes after Nation.Cymru reported that newly established anti-immigration group, “Welsh Valley Child Protectors” had been seeking out the addresses of where migrants, or people that looked like migrants, could be living in Caerphilly.

The all-male group was set up the day after the Reform UK’s Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney branch published false claims online that asylum seekers and refugees were accessing social homes ahead of locals in Caerphilly.

Welsh Valley Child Protectors leader, Joshua Edwards, published a series of now deleted videos to Facebook in which he ranted to the camera about “illegal immigrants” and Ukrainians whilst appearing to drive his van without a seatbelt.

In one video he called on members of the public to send him the addresses of properties where migrants could be living.

He also asked for the addresses of suspected white British paedophiles, although he added that his “main concern” was the “masses of unvetted people” being “dumped” in Caerphilly.

In a Facebook comment, one member of the group revealed the location a block of flats in the county where they said they had seen 15 people who “definitely weren’t British”.

Another commentator responded to this saying residents at the property “don’t come out till [sic] it’s dark” adding that this behaviour was “embedded in them” because it’s so hot during the day in the Middle East.

Edwards and group co-founder Ross Perkins promised they would visit this address.

In another post, Edwards told another group member that there were “a few properties that need attention”.

In another video filmed at the wheel, he criticised the number of Ukrainian refugees living in Caerphilly, saying he would place those who returned to Ukraine in the “same category” as asylum seekers arriving on small boats.

Edwards added that Ukrainians who chose to visit relatives should be “deported” adding that their “British passport” should be taken away.

Despite the group leader speaking so passionately against Ukrainian refugees, his comments  appeared to demonstrate a lack of understanding of the immigration system.

Most Ukrainians who arrived following Russia’s invasion did so through temporary visa schemes, such as Homes for Ukraine, rather than the standard refugee or asylum system, meaning they do not automatically become British citizens or receive British passports.

Gwent Police confirmed earlier this week they had received a call about Welsh Valley Child Protectors from a concerned member of the public, adding: “We will be reviewing the information they have passed on”.

The Welsh Valley Child Protectors Facebook page shows the group organised a poorly attended protest last week at a Premier Inn in Caerphilly where they thought migrants would be housed.

This was despite Whitbread, the firm that owns Premier Inn, saying these rumours were “categorically” false.

The demonstration saw members of the group carrying Welsh flags and swigging from cans of beer whilst marching through Bedwas.

The protest was praised by Reform’s Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney branch which shared images of the gathering to Facebook.

However, Welsh Valley Child Protectors was forced to pause its activities on Wednesday (September 2) amid a backlash from the public following Nation.Cymru’s reporting.

Edwards published a final post saying: “It’s happened already. I’m being posted all over FB and I’ve had a customer cancel a large job because of this group and my videos.”

He had established the group the day after Reform in Caerphilly published an AI image of a queue of Black people with a caption claiming they were receiving social housing ahead of local people in the county.

The Reform branch boasted that it had found out via Freedom of Information requests that 18 refugees had been placed in social housing in the county in the last three years.

Although the information appeared to relate to people who had been granted official refugee status, the page published a synthetic image of 24 “asylum seekers” queuing on a housing estate, with a Black man at the front of the line holding out his hand.

Some commentators assumed the image was real and the post quickly went viral. Reform blocked and deleted comments from users who raised concerns that it could inflame community tensions and put refugees at risk.

Refugees who have been granted legal status gain the legal right to live and work in the UK which permits them to join council waiting lists on the same terms as other applicants.

They do not automatically receive priority or jump the queue ahead of local people.

Asylum seekers still waiting for a decision on their asylum claim cannot access social housing or join social housing waiting lists.

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