AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after a woman who claimed that she worked for East Lothian Council posted a foul-mouthed rant against refugees on social media.

The woman, who is on Facebook under the name of Kaylee O’Donnell, made the comments on the Courier’s public Facebook page on a report of the arrival of two Syrian refugee families in East Lothian as part of the county’s commitment to help the humanitarian crisis in their home country.

She said the families could “**** right off!”, adding: “I live and work for East Lothian Council and live in Musselburgh and can’t get a ****ing council house for myself and my two young kids! I DON’T welcome these families!”

Her comments were immediately condemned by other Facebook users, who questioned the fact she claimed she worked for the council and her view.

East Lothian Council has now launched an investigation into the incident, which occurred last Wednesday.

A council spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of these comments on social media and are currently trying to ascertain whether or not this person is a council employee.

“We have a social media policy. Any alleged breaches will be thoroughly investigated.”

The Syrian refugees settled in East Lothian are part of a UK-wide programme managed by the Home Office. The families have been living in refugee camps in Lebanon for a number of years and their status and identities have been verified by agencies on behalf of the UK Government.

East Lothian Council has agreed to provide homes for seven refugee families a year for the next five years in its efforts to help the refugee crisis.

So far four families have arrived in the county where they are being supported by East Lothian Council employees and East Lothian Welcomes Refugees as well as community groups and charities.

Macmerry Primary School children have been involved in creating welcome cards for the children of the families as they settle in to life in the county.

East Lothian Welcomes Refugees have been involved in providing care packages to help them settle in as well.