A Reform UK councillor has been suspended from the party after participating in a WhatsApp group where members allegedly called for a "mass Islam genocide" and made violent threats against political figures.
Councillor's Controversial Messages
Tom Pickup, who was elected to Lancashire County Council in May and served as the council's lead member for resources and finance, confirmed to the Guardian that he was a member of the group established by a right-wing activist.
In disturbing exchanges seen by the Guardian, one participant stated that Labour leader Keir Starmer "needs a fucking bullet," to which another replied calling him a "DICKtator." Pickup responded to this exchange by referring to the Prime Minister as a "dicktaker."
Other messages from Pickup included calling a government minister a "Ukrainian boy penetrator" and expressing agreement with "mass deportations." The councillor also wrote: "Everyone in Reform is a lot more hardline on immigration than is typically stated publicly, to get a majority government we have to be tactical."
Investigation and Response
Nigel Farage's party confirmed to the Guardian that Pickup had been suspended on Wednesday pending an investigation into his participation in the controversial messaging group.
When confronted about the messages, Pickup admitted membership in the group but claimed his comments had been "twisted out of context." He stated he was unaware of the more extreme posts, which allegedly included one participant calling for a "mass Islam genocide" and encouraging others to stockpile weapons to attack "lefties" and "migrants."
The councillor described his comment about Starmer being a "dicktaker" as a "jokey comment" but acknowledged it showed "poor judgment." He told the Guardian: "99% of what occurs in groups, I don't see. Based on my involvement in it and what I have seen, I've been my usual jokey self and it's been twisted out of context."
Political Fallout and Calls for Resignation
Pickup revealed he left the group this week when screenshots of his messages began circulating on social media. He claimed he tried to locate other concerning posts but said messages automatically delete after 24 hours, making them inaccessible.
When specifically asked whether he supported calls for a "mass Islam genocide," Pickup responded: "Of course not. I've done a lot of community engagement work with the Islamic community. It's something that I would have condemned and probably reported but I don't know if they [the messages] are genuine. I've not seen them."
Samara Barnes, a Labour councillor on Lancashire County Council, has called for Pickup to resign as a councillor and confirmed she has reported him to the authority's standards watchdog.
Barnes stated: "We are at a time when we're living in a tinderbox and if people are suggesting we should be having an Islam genocide, this is domestic terrorism. We've seen what can happen when people become radicalised, people become emboldened to do really nasty things. This is beyond an apology or some training. This is more serious and Reform UK need to really take a stand."
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council commented: "We are aware that county councillor Tom Pickup has been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation. Cllr Pickup remains a councillor, sitting as an independent."
