Reform Councillor Who Said Nigerians Should Be ‘Melted Down and Used to Fill in Potholes’ Guilty of Sending Grossly Offensive Message

A suspended Reform UK councillor who posted on social media that Nigerians should be melted down and used to fill potholes has been found guilty of posting a grossly offensive message.

Sunderland City councillor Glenn Gibbins, 66, denied breaching the Communications Act by making the post on Facebook two years before he was elected, claiming it was a ‘tongue-in-cheek joke’.

But his defence was dismissed as he was found guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court today, after the prosecution said the post ‘conjures up despicable images’.

The post came to light when the campaign group Hope Not Hate combed through Gibbins’ social media output when he was announced as a Reform UK candidate for Sunderland City Council.

He was subsequently elected to represent the Hylton Castle ward in May but suspended by Reform in August when the post was uncovered.

Police were informed after he was successfully voted in.

In the post, Gibbins said: ‘Carnt [sic] believe the amount of nigerians in town… should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!’

Emma Dowling, prosecuting, said: ‘The comment about melting them down conjures up despicable images.’

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He claimed he wrote the post after a ‘couple of cans of beer’ and it was ‘a bit naughty but I thought it was fun’.

He denied that it was grossly offensive.

However, he was found guilty following a short trial by District Judge Zoe Passfield and sentenced to a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.

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