Reform UK Sunderland councillor reinstated after apology for alleged comments about Nigerians in the city
Cllr Gibbins has also been given a final warning.
Suspended Sunderland Reform UK councillor Glenn Gibbins has been reinstated to the party following an investigation into alleged comments made about Nigerians living in the city.
Glenn Gibbins was elected to serve Sunderland City Council’s Hylton Castle ward following local elections on May 7 in which the Reform UK candidate finished ahead of nine other candidates by attracting 1,295 votes.
However, following the election it was announced that Cllr Gibbins was under investigation by his party over an alleged social media post from 2024 – now deleted – in which he is said to have made a distasteful comment about the “amount of Nigerians in town”.
Reform UK has now confirmed Cllr Gibbins has been reinstated in the party and is free to take up his role as Hylton Castle ward councillor after apologising for the post.
A party spokesperson said: “Following an internal disciplinary process, Cllr Gibbins has been readmitted to the party and issued with a final written warning. He has apologised for making the post and accepts that it was made in extremely poor taste showing poor judgment."
The alleged comments were condemned by Sunderland MP and education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who labelled them divisive, as well as Cllr Paul Edgeworth, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on Sunderland City Council, who said the comments were “shocking and disgusting”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also labelled the alleged comments in the post as “disgusting”.