Members of the group talked about stockpiling weapons to carry out domestic terrorism
Another Reform councillor has been suspended by the party, this time for belonging to a far-right WhatsApp group.
Reform has suspended Lancashire County councillor Tom Pickup, and will sit as an independent, pending an investigation.
In the group, members made Islamophobic statements and talked about stockpiling weapons including crossbows and petrol bombs to carry out domestic terrorism.
The group is understood to have been set up by far-right rapper Missus Kent, whose real name is Jodie Goodban or Scott (married name).
Scott performed at Robinson’s anti-immigration Unite the Kingdom rally back in September.
Pickup responded to a message in the chat calling for Keir Starmer to be shot with a joke, writing: “He is a DICKtator,” followed by “*taker.”
In one message, the councillor for Padiham and Burnley West in Lancashire said that “Everyone in Reform is a lot more hardline on immigration than is typically stated publicly, to get a majority government we have to be tactical.”
He also indicated that Reform is waiting to announce even more hardline policies on immigration.
He said: “I think a clear and detailed policy on immigration will be rolled out quite soon, but until now as the party have been growing it’s been good to use tact to get us there, previous more hardline parties have all failed by not doing this approach.”
In another message, he also said that he hoped expelled Reform MP Rupert Lowe would return to the party and become Reform leader. He has now said he does not hope to see Lowe leading Reform in the future.
Pickup told the Lancashire Lead that he had been added to the group rather than having actively joined it.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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