Nigel Farage's No2 blasted for not condemning Reform councillor who said Nigerians should be 'melted'

Nigel Farage's No2 has come under fire after refusing to explicitly condemn a Reform councillor who said Nigerians should be melted and put into potholes. During a bad-tempered TV exchange, Richard Tice griped about media "smears" as he faced questioning about the vile online post from Sunderland councillor Glenn Gibbins' account. Mr Tice said Reform politicians who say "daft things" will be looked at. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson singled the post out as an example of racism and division, which she described as "perilous". And Labour said it was "utterly grotesque" that Mr Tice did not call it out. A senior Reform figure later said Mr Gibbins had been suspended. Challenged by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Tice said: "We have an internal party process." Ms Kuenssberg cut in: "It's not a very good one if someone who expresses that can be elected." Mr Tice complained about "smearing and the sneering" the party faced, before stating: "If people have said daft things, of course it'll be looked at." Before Thursday's local elections, campaign group Hope Not Hate revealed Mr Gibbins' account had posted in March 2024: "Carnt believe amount of nigerians in town…..should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes!!” Pressed again about the comment, Mr Tice said: "This weekend we are celebrating our incredible successes. Like any party, you have internal party processes to look at where people have said or done the wrong thing." Asked to condemn the remark, Mr Tice said: "I condemn anything that is wrong and inappropriate." He refused to say if the post was wrong or inappropriate, saying: "And the key point is voters have heard all of this smearing and this sneering against all of us, and they voted for more Reform because they want action." Told that it was not a smear to question him, the Reform deputy leader said: "And I've just said we look at all these things, of course." Earlier Ms Phillipson had told the show: "One of the candidates that who's now a councillor has been elected, he said that we should melt down Nigerians to fill in potholes. This is the kind of racism and division that is so perilous." Darren Grimes, deputy leader of Durham County Council, told BBC Look North: "He's (Mr Gibbins) been suspended and the party is investigating those very serious allegations and will act on them." Facing questions about the comments, Mr Tice said: "I'm going later to a campaign against the scourge of anti-Semitism which is the greatest threat facing us here in, particularly in London, but elsewhere across the UK. That's what people are really concerned about. "We've stood up strongly for the Jewish community." A Labour spokesman said: “It’s utterly grotesque that Reform can’t even call out clear racism. "It speaks volumes that Richard Tice tried to brush off these comments. And it speaks volumes that Nigel Farage refused to sack him as a candidate and is now happy to have him represent Reform as a councillor. They’re both a disgrace." The Mirror has contacted Reform UK for a comment.