Asylum seeker complaint against Lincolnshire councillor dismissed

A Lincolnshire councillor who said asylum seekers “may need to be housed in secure locations” to protect women and children has been cleared of breaking council rules.

Reform councillor Natalie Oliver, who oversees children’s services at Lincolnshire County Council, faced a formal complaint over comments made during a full council meeting in September.

Cllr Oliver, who represents Woodhall Spa and Wragby, told colleagues asylum seekers were “criminals” for crossing the Channel and suggested they might need to be kept in secure housing for public safety. Her remarks came during a debate on whether military bases could be used to accommodate asylum seekers in the county.

Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Christopher submitted the complaint, arguing her comments were “factually inaccurate” and risked “inciting fear and prejudice” against vulnerable people - including children seeking asylum.

An independent investigator brought in by the authority ruled that Cllr Oliver had not breached the council’s code of conduct.

The report stated her comments “fell within the bounds of robustness as to be expected by the public on such matters” and it was not in the public interest to take the complaint further.

Cllr Christopher also raised concerns about a clip Cllr Oliver shared on X (formerly Twitter) which showed a Labour councillor she said had “berated and attacked” her during the meeting. He claimed the clip could mislead viewers, but this complaint was also dismissed -though the post has since been removed.