Reform council leader under investigation over 'bigoted' social media posts
Reform UK has launched an investigation into ‘bigoted’ posts on the council leader’s social media accounts
Reform UK has launched an urgent investigation into a council leader after it was alleged he made a series of racist comments online.
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Staffordshire County Council leader Ian Cooper has been accused “bigoted” posts on social media, and was listed as a “top fan of a white supremacist” Facebook page.
Activist group Hope Not Hate claimed to have found racist posts on an account on X allegedly linked to Mr Cooper, including one about foreign secretary David Lammy which read: "No foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in Parliament."
It is also alleged he described London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a “narcissistic Pakistani” among other comments.
According to Hope Not Hate, Councillor Cooper made comments on YouTube and X under personal accounts.
Nigel Farage’s party said it was undertaking an “urgent internal investigation over Councillor Cooper’s non-disclosure of social media accounts”.
His alleged social media activity has also come under scrutiny after a group called Reform UK Exposed claimed he was a top fan of a page called The European Race, which promotes white supremacy.
A 'top fan' is someone who has high engagement with a Facebook page.
The Facebook page in question has about 146,000 followers and describes itself as: “A page about our beautiful European people, lands and cultures.”
Posts on the page include captions like “More white babies is the answer!”, “Thin lips are the best” and “#WhiteLondonOnly”.
One photo posted on the page says “If The English Chose To Be Allies With The Germans Instead Of Enemies… The UK Would Still Be White & Beautiful.”
The council declined to comment.
LBC has made several requests for comment from Ian Cooper.
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Conservative leader on Staffordshire County Council, Philip White, told LBC Cllr Cooper must resign: "A man who is a "top fan" of a white supremacist Facebook group is completely unfit for public office and he should resign immediately," he said.
“In addition, Reform UK needs to explain how they have allowed this culture of prejudice to take root in their Staffordshire branch and what they are doing to address it."
Previously, Cllr Cooper has been criticised for defending a Reform member of the council accused of making offensive comments online.
Cllr Peter Mason, who serves in the authority’s cabinet, wrote posts in 2023 and early 2024 containing derogatory comments towards multiple groups, including attacks on gay and trans people, Muslims, and referring to UK police as “a bunch of politically indoctrinated British hating scum” who “paint rainbows and dance around like fairies”.
He also interacted with at least one post from Paul Golding, the leader of far-right group Britain First.
After calls were made for him to resign, LBC revealed that instead of condemning his comments, Cllr Cooper appeared to back his colleague by telling other Reform members in an email: "I don't intend for Peter to resign.... We stick together!"
In an email to Reform UK councillors seen by the Independent, Cooper said Mason was under “targeted political attack” by the party’s opponents.
He said: “Peter’s comment regarding a statue of a black woman was a critique of public art, not a personal attack on an individual. His views on policing also reflect concerns shared by many, including recent reporting that the Metropolitan police is expanding its ‘woke’ workforce while facing a £250m funding gap and cutting thousands of frontline jobs.”
Cllr Mason issued a statement in apology, saying “these tweets were made in 2023 and early 2024 when I was not a member of any political party or elected as a councillor and during a difficult time personally."
Among those calling for Cllr Cooper to stand down is the Green Party Councillor Jack Rose. He told LBC: “Well once again I’m not surprised.
“There’s no wonder Cllr Mason was defended so vigorously within the Staffordshire Reform councillor group.
“They will look out for themselves and defend racism over looking out for our community.”
In a statement, HOPE not Hate said: “The picture painted... is of a man who is tapped into far-right media and terminology.
In response to the allegations, a Reform UK spokesman said: "We are undergoing an urgent internal investigation over Cllr Cooper's non-disclosure of social media accounts.”