Reform council deputy admits post image was AI

"The image was obviously for illustrative purposes. Grimes said it was 'entirely predictable' the BBC was 'hyperventilating' over the image instead of the fact 'southern councils are using the north as a dumping ground for their housing failures and mass migration'. He added: 'Make no mistake, this is happening, people are being pushed to the back of the queue in their own communities.'"

"The post, published on Grimes's Substack and subsequently to his Facebook and X accounts, said Durham County Council had received official notification of nearly 100 households being moved from London to the region in the past two years. He said there were 10,000 people on the local authority's social housing waiting list and only 3,000 homes became available each year."

"You don't need a degree in advanced mathematics to see that the system is rigged against local people. Grimes then suggested the Reform-led council's proposed new social housing policy would fix the issue, even though the families being moved to the region were part of the broader housing crisis affecting multiple areas."

Durham County Council's deputy leader Darren Grimes posted a blog claiming southern councils were moving 'problem tenants, recent refugees and homeless families' to the north, linking this to Durham's social housing crisis. The post included an AI-generated photo of South Asian men in tracksuits by a coach, which Grimes acknowledged was artificially created when questioned by the BBC. He defended the image as illustrative and dismissed criticism, arguing the real issue was councils using the north as a 'dumping ground' for housing failures. Grimes cited official notification of nearly 100 households relocated from London in two years, noting Durham's 10,000-person social housing waiting list against only 3,000 annual available homes.

Read at www.bbc.com