Overview
- Reform UK confirmed on Wednesday that Tom Pickup was suspended pending an investigation.
- Lancashire County Council said he continues to serve as a councillor sitting as an independent.
- Pickup acknowledged being in a WhatsApp group set up by a right-wing activist where posts allegedly urged a "mass Islam genocide" and violence against migrants and "lefties".
- Screenshots attribute messages to Pickup that insulted the prime minister and a minister, endorsed "mass deportations," and suggested Reform members are harder line on immigration in private.
- Pickup said his remarks were jokes taken out of context, claimed he did not see the most extreme posts, left the chat after screenshots surfaced, and has been reported to the council standards watchdog by Labour councillor Samara Barnes, who also called for his resignation.