A Reform UK councillor in Durham was suspended on 19 August pending investigation after alleged social media posts criticised asylum seekers and may breach civil service impartiality rules. The councillor, Paul Bean, represents Crook and was vice-chair of the council's statutory licensing committee. Bean declared Home Office employment as an asylum decision maker. Posts attributed to the username @dylanandmolly3739 claimed high refusal rates and characterised most asylum seekers as economic migrants abusing the system. Official Home Office figures show 48% of claims were initially granted in the year ending June 2025. The civil service code prohibits personal political views determining official actions.
One post read: "I work as an Asylum Decision Maker for the [Home Office] and I can tell you with authority that 93% of asylum seekers to the UK are men between 18-35 and 92% of them are refused asylum. "The truth is the vast majority of asylum seekers are actually economic migrants abusing the asylum system." The posts were published under the username @dylanandmolly3739, which campaign group Hope Not Hate claims belongs to Bean.
Another said: "Ninety-seven percent of asylum seekers are lying about persecution in their home countries and the other 3% have been credible to the point of being believable. "Source: me. Guess what job I do." Official Home Office figures state 48% of claims (excluding dependants) were initially granted in the year ending June 2025. The civil service code states employees must not allow "personal political views to determine any advice you give or your actions", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Collection
[
|
...
]