Key facts
- District judge Zoe Passfield ruled the Facebook post breached the Malicious Communications Act and was grossly offensive.
- Gibbins, 66, said the post was meant to be cheeky and tongue in cheek, not taken literally.
- Prosecutor Emma Dowling said the post talked about exterminating a group of people.
- Defense lawyer Adam King said they would appeal the decision to the crown court.
- Gibbins said Reform suspended him, reinstated him, and suspended him again.
Glenn Gibbins, a Reform councillor elected to Sunderland council in May, was sentenced on November 9, 2026 to a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work after a district judge ruled a Facebook post he wrote in March 2024 was grossly offensive.
The post read: "Carnt believe the amount of nigerians in town… should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!" At a trial at South Tyneside magistrates court in South Shields, Gibbins, 66, said the post was meant to be "cheeky", "naughty" and "tongue in cheek" and was not meant to be taken literally. "It was just a bit of fun," he said.
District judge Zoe Passfield ruled the post breached the Malicious Communications Act and was grossly offensive. She said Gibbins' "intention was to be grossly offensive to Nigerians as a result of his displeasure at the number of them in the city."
Prosecutor Emma Dowling said the post was talking about "exterminating" a group of people. "To say that it's not to be taken seriously is to disregard history," she said. "The comment about melting them down conjures up despicable images."
Godwin Ejeh, leader of the Nigerian community in Sunderland, testified that he called an emergency meeting after the post came to light. He described the mood as "chaotic" because of the "level of distress", with people concerned for their safety and that of their children. A protest was decided outside city hall. Ejeh said the comments should never have been made. "We are talking about humans. It's not something people should play with."
Defense lawyer Adam King said they would appeal the decision to the crown court. He said the post was not politically motivated and described it as a "stupid, unfunny joke". He pointed to jokes by professional comedians that had not led to criminal proceedings, including Jo Brand on the BBC in 2019 and Jimmy Carr on a Netflix special.
Gibbins said he had been suspended by Reform, then reinstated, but was now suspended again. He said he had run a mobile personalised gifts and T-shirt kiosk in a Sunderland shopping centre and was approached by Reform to run as a councillor in March.