Reform Councillors accused of sharing extremist content

Up to 12 newly elected Reform UK councillors are facing allegations of sharing social media content ranging from support for the far right to explicitly Islamophobic comments.

- Ben Quinn

They include councillors at three county councils who have shared social media content from Britain First, a far-right party known for staging provocative marches and stunts.

A week after Reform's local elections breakthrough, in which it won 677 of more than 1,600 seats contested, the backgrounds of its winning councillors are under scrutiny after the party largely sought to deflect allegations during the campaign.

The councillors accused of retweeting Britain First content include Paul Harrison, who was elected to Leicestershire county council. He retweeted and said "yes" to a question posed on X by Britain First's chair, asking if followers supported mass deportations and posted with an AI-generated picture of Muslim men with Pakistani flags.

Russell Cherry, elected as a councillor in Thurrock, allegedly retweeted Paul Golding, who is Britain First's leader and has a conviction for religiously aggravated harassment.

Ivan Dabbs, a Reform councillor in West Northamptonshire, also allegedly shared a Britain First tweet and material by Golding calling for a street demonstration.