A councillor has spoken out over an investigation after he was accused of ‘stirring up racial hatred’ over the resettlement of people from Afghanistan in Bracknell.
John Edwards is an independent councillor on Sandhurst Town Council who has asked questions about Bracknell Forest Council’s involvement in government resettlement schemes for people from Afghanistan.
This has involved revealing that families are staying in a transitional hotel ahead of long-term accommodation being found for them.
Cllr Edwards has appeared on GB News for an interview on answers he has received from the council.
He is now being investigated by Bracknell Forest Council’s monitoring officer over a claim he is “stirring up racial hatred”.
This news has been covered by The Daily Mail and The Sun, which contain a screenshot of a Facebook post, purported to be by Bracknell Forest Councillor Cherise Welch, that makes accusations against cllr Edwards.
The post appears to be from the Harmans Water & Crown Wood Community page, stating that cllr Edwards has been reported to the Ministry of Defence, Thames Valley Police and the council’s monitoring officer, who also handles complaints about representatives of Sandhurst Town Council and parish councils.
Although Bracknell Forest Council has confirmed that cllr Edwards is being investigated, it has stated that a claim in The Mail and The Sun that cllr Welch (Labour, Harmans Water & Crown Wood) requested the investigation is untrue.
A council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a code of conduct complaint is ongoing, in line with the council’s procedures.
“However, cllr Welch is not a complainant in this case. As this is an active investigation, it is not appropriate for us to comment further.”
Cllr Edwards has now spoken on the investigation, hitting out at the Labour administration of the council.
He said: “The council and some councillors have tried to silence me through intimidation and a weaponised complaints process for raising legitimate concerns about the impact and fairness of housing over 300 Afghans in a Bracknell hotel with extra welfare support.
“In April, I asked:
– Would this impact local housing?
– Was it fair?
– Had proper vetting taken place?
– Would health and education services be affected?
– Would veterans and residents get the same level of support?
“In response, Labour councillors accused me of spreading hate, a formal investigation was launched behind closed doors.”
He then referred to a leaked Whitehall briefing given to ministers confirms that a scheme called the Afghan Relocation Route raises “significant integration considerations… including local services such as education and healthcare.”
Cllr Edwards said: “That completely vindicates my concerns. We now know:
– The scheme does affect housing
– Veterans and struggling residents aren’t receiving equal support
– Health and education are impacted
– And vetting procedures were not properly checked —reportedly allowing individuals previously rejected for violent and sexual offences into the country, and even Taliban members.”
The Afghan Relocation Route is separate from the Afghan Resettlement Programme, which Bracknell Forest Council is a party to.
Cllr Edwards has since questioned why the post on Facebook was published in the first place, querying whether it was designed to “intimidate me or others into silence.”
He has also asked why he wasn’t informed by the council and its Labour administration about the investigation for the sake of his mental well-being.
Cllr Edwards said: “These are serious questions that demand answers—because residents were told this scheme wouldn’t affect housing, wouldn’t impact services, and that concerns like mine were ‘misinformation’. We now know that wasn’t true.
“And if false claims were knowingly made about police reports, that’s not just a double standard—it’s an appalling, anti-democratic act.”
Thames Valley Police has been contacted to determine whether it is investigating.
