A suspended Reform UK councillor has been convicted over a “grossly offensive” social media post he shared about Nigerians.
Earlier this year, Sunderland city councillor Glenn Gibbins was charged over the Facebook post from March 2024, which read: “Carnt [sic] believe amount of Nigerians in town… should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!”.
On Monday, Gibbins was handed a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work by a district judge over the post.
Gibbins had claimed the comment was meant to be “naughty”, “tongue in cheek” and “just a bit of fun,” the Guardian reports.
Judge Zoe Passfield told Gibbins: “The post was nothing more and nothing less than a grossly offensive comment about members of the Nigerian community in Sunderland and Mr Gibbins’ views as to their status, or otherwise, as human beings.”
Gibbins’ legal team has said they intend to appeal at the crown court.
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Prosecutor Emma Dowling said: “The comment about melting them down conjures up despicable images.”
She said it implied that Nigerians were “somewhat less than human, stripping people in that group of humanity”.
Gibbins had been elected to Sunderland city council in May this year to represent the Hylton Castle ward.
He was suspended by Reform after reports about the social media post emerged, but then reinstated to the party in June.
Reform said this was following an internal disciplinary process which resulted in a final written warning.
Gibbins was suspended again when he was charged over the post.
It is unclear if he will be expelled from the party in the wake of his conviction.