- Reform UK has suspended Sunderland City councillor Glenn Gibbins pending the outcome of legal proceedings after he was charged over an offensive social media comment regarding Nigerians.
- The 66-year-old councillor was charged under the Communications Act 2003 following a Northumbria Police investigation into an alleged Facebook post from 2024.
- Gibbins, who is scheduled to appear at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Friday, is currently listed as an Independent on the Sunderland City Council website.
- He was originally suspended after his election in May and reinstated with a final written warning before the party suspended him again following the formal charge.
- Labour politicians, including education secretary Bridget Phillipson, previously criticised Reform UK for failing to adequately condemn the comments when they first emerged.
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