Sunderland councillor Glenn Gibbins convicted over Facebook post that said Nigerians should be 'melted down'
A Sunderland councillor has been convicted of sending a malicious communication over a March 2024 Facebook post that said Nigerians in the town should be melted down to fill potholes. Glenn Gibbins, 66, a suspended Reform UK councillor for Hylton Castle ward, was sentenced at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court to a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work. District Judge Zoe Passfield called the post 'nothing more and nothing less than a grossly offensive comment' about the Nigerian community. Gibbins said the post was a tongue-in-cheek joke, and his legal team said he would appeal.
Key points
- Convicted: Gibbins sent a grossly offensive message — a March 2024 post saying Nigerians should be melted down to fill potholes.
- Sentence: a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work, plus £650 costs and a £114 surcharge.
- The judge said the post denied the Nigerian community's status as human beings; Gibbins called it a joke and will appeal.
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- The post surfaced after Hope Not Hate reviewed his social media; Reform UK had already suspended him.
What happened
Gibbins was elected for Reform UK in May 2026, two years after the post, and was suspended by the party when it came to light; he did not attend the swearing-in ceremony, outside which Sunderland's Nigerian community protested. The case turned on a single legal question the judge answered in her verdict: whether the post crossed the line from offensive to grossly offensive under the Communications Act.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Gibbins was convicted and sentenced on Monday, on the judge's stated reasoning, and that he intends to appeal.
What we don't know yet
- The outcome of the planned appeal to the Crown Court.
- Whether Gibbins will resign or be removed from his council seat — his party expulsion is reported by one outlet and no party statement was read directly.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (6)
Why this label: The verdict and sentence are reported in the same terms by the BBC and by PA Media's court report, both read in full.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The post's text, its date and the route by which it surfaced are reported identically by the BBC and PA Media. The post is quoted as the court had it, spelling included.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The judge's words and reasoning are quoted in PA Media's court report and in the BBC's report in the same terms.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Gibbins' account is his own evidence in court, reported by PA Media and the BBC; it is carried as his stated position, which the judge rejected. The appeal is his legal team's stated intention, not a filed outcome.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Ejeh's evidence and the prosecutor's words are from PA Media's report of the trial, read in full.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The expulsion and the resignation call rest on the Chronicle's reporting, carried by one outlet in the reporting read; no Reform UK statement was read directly.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why it matters
The verdict is a court's answer, with a sentence attached, to a claim heard often in British politics — that a dehumanising post about an ethnic community was only a joke. For Sunderland's Nigerian community, whose leader gave evidence about the fear it caused, the judgment is also a public record that the post was what the judge called it.
Background
Gibbins posts the message about Nigerians on his public Facebook profile.
He is elected to Sunderland City Council for Hylton Castle ward; the post surfaces through Hope Not Hate's review and Reform UK suspends him.
He is convicted at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court and sentenced to a community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
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Published. Basis: PA Media's and the BBC's reports of the trial and sentence.