Reform UK says there is "no case to answer" in response to councillor Gavin Beales' links to a racist dating site
Reform has said there is “no case to answer” over councillor Gavin Beales’ membership of the now defunct white supremacist dating site, WhiteDate.
This comes after three local Labour MPs called on the leader of North Northamptonshire Council, Martin Griffiths to suspend Beales immediately and investigate him.
MPs Rosie Wrighting (Kettering), Lee Barron (Corby and East Northants) and Gen Kitchen (Wellingborough) wrote to Griffiths questioning the “lack of action” he had taken about Beales’ link to the dating site.
In a statement to the NN Journal earlier this week, Beales said that around seven years ago he “may have been inadvertently linked” to the dating site for “Europids seeking tribal love”.
The Reform councillor for Brickhill and Queensway claimed he could not recall the details.
He said: “Given the time that has passed, I cannot clearly recall the details. However, in light of what is now known about the nature of the site, I would never have knowingly chosen to be a member or to associate myself with it in any way.”
Lillith Osborn, a Conservative councillor in Somerset who was revealed as having been a member of WhiteDate, was immediately suspended by the Conservative Party pending an investigation.
Reform claims it has reviewed the issue since Beales’ name was leaked over the weekend, and said the party is satisfied that “there is no case to answer”.
In a statement to NN Journal Griffiths 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.”
In a Facebook profile photo from 2012, Beales is pictured posing with a Wehrmacht barrel, a firearms barrel used by Nazi soldiers in the second world war.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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