A volunteer in Essex has accused a Reform UK councillor of likening her to a Nazi collaborator after she helped asylum seekers learn English. The incident occurred during a Wethersfield parish council meeting on October 14, where tensions over the treatment of asylum seekers at a nearby accommodation centre escalated.

Mair Godley, 78, and her husband Nick, 77, who is a former chair of the parish council, live near the former Wethersfield military base, which the Home Office uses to house hundreds of asylum seekers. The couple raised concerns about local issues during the meeting, including the state of potholes and the need for a security operation patrolling Essex town centres called "Operation Vanguard."

Carl Johnson, a Reform UK councillor who attended the meeting to provide updates on local matters, questioned whether anyone present was assisting the asylum seekers at Wethersfield, using the phrase “facilitating the invasion.” Godley replied that she had volunteered to teach English to the residents at the facility. Johnson then compared her actions to collaborating with Germany during the Second World War, adding that he did not want his daughter to fall victim to assault by asylum seekers.

The controversy follows a Facebook post by Johnson in the week prior to the meeting, where he criticized what he described as government complicity in an "invasion" by people who enter the country "illegally." In that post, Johnson claimed asylum seekers receive free clothing and accommodation, while others bear the financial burden, labeling the situation as "treason."

The parish council meeting reportedly grew heated as a result of the exchange, leading to Johnson being asked to leave in order to restore order. Draft minutes from the meeting, obtained by reporters, reflect the intensity of the confrontation.

Godley said the councillor’s remarks left her feeling deeply offended and violated. “I’m nearly 79 years old. I felt violated by his comments. How dare he say that to me?” she stated, adding that she told Johnson “you are not wanted here.” The incident has drawn attention to the increasingly fraught discourse surrounding asylum seekers and community responses in parts of Essex following the recent shift of local government control to Reform UK.