"A newly elected Reform UK councillor has been suspended from the party after he was accused of making a series of Islamophobic and antisemitic posts on social media. Ben Rowe was elected to Plymouth City Council on Friday with 1,649 votes - more than double that of his nearest rival, Labour's Tina Tuohy. On Tuesday, the party confirmed to the BBC that Rowe had been suspended from it."
"The BBC has seen posts on Rowe's Facebook account with a blackface meme, images calling on people to "Free the world of Islam" and pictures of fake shotgun shells loaded with bits of bacon. According to a previous article in The Times, in a comment beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused "the Jews" of "creating division by forcing other races on our societies" and described immigrants to the UK "breeding like rats"."
"Reform took 14 seats in the Plymouth City Council elections out of a total 19 seats available. Elections are held in thirds in Plymouth - meaning one third of the seats is up for election every year with a fourth year where no elections take place. The results of the elections meant Labour kept control of the council with 31 seats and Reform became the main opposition party with 16 seats."
Ben Rowe, newly elected to Plymouth City Council for Reform UK, was suspended from the party pending investigation after accusations of Islamophobic and antisemitic posts on social media. Reported content included a blackface meme, images urging people to “Free the world of Islam,” and pictures of fake shotgun shells loaded with bacon. The BBC also reported earlier comments in February on a YouTube video in which Rowe accused “the Jews” of creating division and described immigrants to the UK as “breeding like rats.” Reform won 14 of 19 seats available, while Labour retained council control with 31 seats and Reform became the main opposition with 16 seats.
Read at www.bbc.com
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