Reform council group leader accused of making ‘racist statements’ about grooming gangs
The Reform group leader has been condemned for making “factually inaccurate racist statements and stirring up divisive misinformation”
The leader of the Reform group on Doncaster Council, councillor Howard Rimmer, has been criticised for making “factually inaccurate racist statements” about grooming gangs.
The Reform group leader called on the Labour mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, and Labour councillor Sue Farmer, cabinet member for children, young people and families, to step down after they attended a Stand-Up To Racism (SUTR) demonstration on 29 August.
Rimmer said SUTR, who organised a counter-demonstration to Tommy Robinson’s Unite The Right rally, ‘support mass immigration’.
In a council meeting last week, Rimmer claimed that by attending an SUTR protest, Jones and Farmer had shown they were unable to protect young girls from grooming gangs, which he falsely alleged are “majority Pakistani men”.
National Police Chiefs’ Council figures from 2024 found that, where ethnicity data was available, 85% of “group-based” child abusers were white in the first three quarters of the year. By comparison, just 3.9% of child abusers were recorded as being of Pakistani origin.
Responding to the Reform council leader’s comments, Jones told Yorkshire Live: “Racism has no place in our communities, our workplaces, or our politics. It divides people, spreads mistrust and ignores a simple truth: every person deserves dignity and respect, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or background.
“We have seen the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Global millionaires and billionaires stoking up division through misinformation on social media, blaming anyone but themselves for the state of the world.
“As the leader of the Reform group, I expected better from Coun Rimmer than him making factually inaccurate racist statements and stirring up divisive misinformation.”
Speaking to reporters, Rimmer stood by his comments about grooming gangs, despite being advised that the majority of grooming gang members were white British men, rather than Pakistani men.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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