Councillors have condemned the presence of far right extremists in a Vale of Glamorgan town during a protest over a new refugee facility. At a full Vale of Glamorgan Council meeting on Monday, April 24, councillors referenced the former Eagleswell School site in Llantwit Major which is being turned into temporary accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.
Locals showed their support for refugees and opposed far-right extremists who had decided to protest against the accommodation facility in March. In bringing forward a motion for the Vale of Glamorgan to work towards becoming a County of Sanctuary, the leader of the council, Councillor Lis Burnett, praised the "warmth of welcome" shown to refugees in the town when they were "targeted by far right groups".
The leader of the Conservatives group at the council, Councillor George Carroll, said discrimination, harassment and intimidation "is never acceptable in our society", adding: "Whilst such incidents are thankfully relatively rare, when they do occur we all have a duty to speak out and to stamp it out. In Llantwit Major recently, Madam Mayor, residents' legitimate grievances about Eagleswell School site were used by an extreme outside organisation to sow division."
