Darren Grimes has said he was contacted by police over accusations of “inciting racism and hate” online.
The Deputy Leader of Durham County Council was slammed this week after posting a video on his X account of his brother on a boat trip in Scarborough.
The clip showed the Reform councillor’s brother alongside a number of non-white people, including kids, and Grimes captioned the post: “I had to ask him if he was on a dinghy to Dover, but then I realised there are women and children on board.”
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One of those to condemn the disgusting post was Labour North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, who said Grimes’ comments were “hideous.”
She added: “Is this not just inciting racism and hate? How have we got to a world where an elected representative can post stuff like this unchallenged by his own party leadership or by journalists? This is not how Britain thinks.”
Following the post, Grimes revealed he had been contacted by police on Wednesday. Durham Police said they had reviewed the X post after received reports about it, but found it did not “meet the threshold for a criminal offence,” the Northern Echo reports.
Writing on X, Grimes said: “The police just called to say they’ve received allegations that I have been inciting racial hatred.
“I did no such thing, and the police themselves have said so. Shame on our disgusting media and Labour politicians for wasting police time in this way.
“They are the problem, not me.”
A police spokesperson added: “We received reports relating to a social media post made on Sunday, August 24.
“Those reports were reviewed, however the content of the post was found not to meet the threshold for a criminal offence.”
McGuinness is not understood to have reported the video to police.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Wednesday, she said: “I welcome this confirmation of the obvious by Durham Police, but regret the complete waste of police time. What’s really at stake here is free debate. Labour’s instinct is always to smear anyone who notices reality as a criminal, while they allow mass migration to continue on steroids.
“And instead of taking the measures Reform UK has set out this week to stem the tide, they double down on open borders and empty slogans. I was elected to speak up for my residents. I won’t be cowed into silence while Labour ignores the public and our country changes beyond recognition.”