A viral fake letter claiming to be from Bexley Council about asylum seekers moving into nearby properties advises people to keep their daughters inside, rehome pets “if possible” and lock away property.

Bexley Council has confirmed with Full Fact, and in a statement on its website, that it didn’t send the letter. It has referred the matter to the police.

Images of the letter and videos of someone reading it have been widely shared across Facebook, Instagram and X.

Pictures of the fake letter spreading online appear to claim that “a number of properties” in the area will be occupied by asylum seekers. It asks residents to “consider the fact that these are young men aged approximately 19-40 years old” and says “the rules in their home countries are different from ours”.

It then lists advice including keeping young daughters “inside where possible”, or making sure they are “dressed appropriately so as not to tempt the men in any way”. It also suggests keeping animals indoors whenever you can as “dogs are offensive to some religions”.

Although the letter was reportedly sent to some residents, and appears to include the council’s logo, as well as the name of a real council officer and genuine council email addresses, Bexley Council issued a statement saying: “We wish to make it clear that this letter is NOT from the Council and we have referred the matter to the Metropolitan Police.”

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A Met spokesperson told Full Fact: “Officers have launched a malicious communications investigation in relation to a letter distributed to some residents in Bexley.

“The letter incorrectly states to be from the local council, and officers are working closely with residents to prevent the spread of misinformation.”

They said no arrests have been made at this early stage and enquiries remain ongoing.

One video of a woman who said she’d received it through the letterbox, said: “I called the council to make sure that this has come from them.” In response to several X posts pointing this out, Bexley Council repeated its assertion that the letter was not from them.

The woman told Full Fact that when she first spoke to the council about the letter she was told it seemed to be from them, and was asked if she would like to make a complaint. She was later told that the letter was a hoax, but says she feels “in limbo” as she doesn’t know where the letter has come from. Full Fact has approached Bexley Council to ask about this.

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