A Reform UK councillor representing the Hylton Castle ward, Glenn Gibbins, has been charged with posting grossly offensive comment mocking Nigeria on social media.
Mr Gibbins, elected in May 2026, was charged with an offence under the Communications Act 2003, Northumbria Police said on Wednesday.
In 2024, the 66-year-old politician, in a social media post, said “Cant believe amount of nigerians in town…..should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!”
The police said that it was alerted to Mr Gibbins’s post in May this year and submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised a charge.
A Northumbria police spokesperson on Wednesday said, “We are aware there has already been significant interest in relation to this individual and the social media post. We would urge people not to speculate both online and in the community in relation to this case.”
Mr Gibbins will appear before South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on August 21.
Earlier in May, Mr Gibbins was suspended as a Reform UK councillor over his post mocking Nigeria, but was later reinstated last month following an internal disciplinary process
Reform UK said the politician had “apologised for making the post and accepts that it was made in extremely poor taste showing poor judgement.”
