‘No case to answer’ says council leader after MPs call for suspension of councillor
Reform UK Cllr Gavin Beales had a profile on a white supremacist dating site
Reform UK has said ‘there is no case to answer’ in response to three Northants MPs publishing a joint letter calling on the leader of North Northamptonshire Council to suspend and investigate a councillor exposed as having a profile on a white supremacist dating site.
Cllr Gavin Beales, who represents Wellingborough’s Queensway and Brickhill ward, was named by a national newspaper at the weekend as being on a leaked list of users of the dating site WhiteDate.
Cllr Beales released a statement after the expose, describing himself as an introvert and saying he did not recall the details of signing up, had ‘inadvertently been linked to the site’ and had not been a paid member. (Read our earlier story here).
As well as being a whites-only website, the site, which was hacked and closed down last month, also had content about the Nazi Third Reich and other white supremacist material.
Reform UK has not taken any action locally or nationally on the matter and in response, the area’s three MP’s Rosie Wrighting (Kettering), Lee Barron (Corby and East Northants) and Gen Kitchen (Wellingborough) published an open letter to council leader Martin Griffiths asking him to act.
The letter says:
Dear Cllr Griffiths,
As the MPs representing North Northamptonshire, we are writing to you on behalf of our residents to raise grave concerns about one of your councillors and to question the lack of action you have taken as leader.
A shocking article published in the Observer last weekend alleged Reform Cllr Gavin Beales, who represents Brickhill and Queensway in Wellingborough, had previously been a user of a white supremacist dating site.
A Conservative councillor in Somerset who was also discovered to have used the site has been suspended by her party.
Whilst Cllr Beales’ remarks since the article was published have attempted to put distance between him and the WhiteDate website, he has not denied using it – in fact referring to his using the site as something “minor”.
When elected, councillors are given the privilege of serving their communities, and in return those communities expect to be represented without prejudice.
Residents deserve better from you as the leader of North Northamptonshire Council and the people of Wellingborough deserve a better representative.
We call on you to suspend Cllr Beales with immediate effect and investigate the allegations against him, including whether he shares the white supremacist views of the site he used.
Please write back to us with urgency about the next steps you plan to take.
But Cllr Griffiths says ‘there is no case to answer’.
In a statement to NN Journal he said:
“Reform UK has reviewed the matter fully and is satisfied that there is no case to answer. Councillor Beales has provided a clear and consistent explanation and has been unequivocal in his opposition to racism in all forms. He continues to serve residents fairly, respectfully and without prejudice.
“The party now considers this matter closed and will not be taking any further action. Councillor Beales will continue his work on behalf or local families and communities and delivering the council’s corporate plan for the future.”
Reform UK runs both North and West unitary councils in Northamptonshire. The party took no action after then candidate for Hunsbury Ronald Firman was exposed for making social media comments about the Ku Klux Klan and also saying a Somalian refugee should be thrown from a plane. He was later elected.
The party also said ‘it had nothing to say’ when another WNC candidate Ivan Dabbs was shown to have shared posts by far right group Britain First. He was also elected.