Fact Check: Did Bexley Council Tell Families to Keep Daughters Inside? No

The claim and verdict

CLAIM: The London Borough of Bexley sent residents a “neighbourhood notice” advising families to keep daughters indoors because adult male asylum seekers would be housed nearby.

VERDICT: FALSE. Bexley Council says the document did not come from the council, and London's Metropolitan Police confirmed an investigation into a malicious communication falsely presented as an official notice.

The letter used council-style branding and invented authority to make a stigmatizing warning appear official. A widely shared video amplified it before the person who posted the video later acknowledged the council's denial and apologized.

What verifies the forgery

The council placed a notice on its official website and social accounts saying it was aware of fake letters delivered to some homes. It referred the matter to police rather than defending the language or treating it as an authentic departmental communication.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Reuters that officers were investigating and working with residents to stop the spread of misinformation. Independent fact-checkers reached the same conclusion after comparing the claim with the issuing authority's response.

Those sources establish that the letter is fabricated. They do not yet establish who produced or distributed it, how many homes received it or whether criminal charges will follow.

Why official-looking documents require source checks

A logo, signature block and bureaucratic language can be copied. Readers should visit the institution's own website, search for the notice and call a published switchboard number rather than one printed on an unverified document.

The false message also used fear about asylum seekers to encourage rapid sharing. The defensible response is to separate two questions: governments can be scrutinized over housing policy, but this supposed council warning is not evidence because the council did not issue it.

Limits and what to watch

Police confirmation that the letter is fake does not identify its creator or establish a motive; the investigation remains active.

The next development to watch is any Metropolitan Police charging decision or further verified council notice about the investigation.