The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rhoose, which provided temporary accommodation for families evacuated from Afghanistan, has been the subject of a false allegation circulated by a far-right group. The claim — broadcast in a provocative video on social media — asserted that a former guest had been guilty of a sexual offence. Local and national officials say the allegation is untrue.
Where the claim came from
The video was posted by the Swansea-based group Voice of Wales, run by Dan Morgan and Stan Robinson. The group has a history of staging noisy protests outside the hotel while it sheltered people who had assisted British forces in Afghanistan and were resettled in the UK under humanitarian schemes.
Political pressure and official responses
Last month, former Tory Senedd group leader Andrew RT Davies raised the issue publicly, saying the Government needed to explain what had happened after being told a sex offence had been committed by an Afghan national resettled in the Vale of Glamorgan. He had sought information from the Ministry of Defence and followed up repeatedly.
"The Government had serious questions to answer,"
Mr Davies later referred his request to the Information Commissioner after initial enquiries were not answered. In January, the Home Office declined to release the information, saying the cost of complying would be excessive.
What the Ministry of Defence says
The Ministry of Defence has acknowledged holding material relating to 10 cases in which people relocated to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Afghan Response Route (ARR) were subsequently involved in criminal matters. The MOD statement does not detail individual offences or link them directly to the hotel in Rhoose.
- Location: Holiday Inn Express, Rhoose
- Group spreading claim: Voice of Wales
- Government held data on: 10 cases related to ARAP/ARR resettlements
Local impact and context
The hotel’s use as short-term housing followed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan; many residents were people who had worked with UK forces and faced real danger at home. The presence of such families in the Vale prompted protests from far-right groups, despite the humanitarian basis for their relocation. False or exaggerated allegations risk stigmatising already vulnerable people and inflaming tensions in the local community.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Temporary accommodation | Holiday Inn Express, Rhoose |
| Resettlement schemes | ARAP and ARR |
| Cases held by MOD | 10 |
Local residents who have concerns about safety or official responses can contact the Vale of Glamorgan Council or the local police non-emergency line for guidance. Meanwhile the flow of inaccurate information on social media highlights the need for caution and verification before allegations are repeated.
Further inquiries about specific incidents remain subject to data-protection and national security considerations, and authorities have so far limited what they will disclose publicly.
