Suspended Reform councillor to get whip restored

A councillor suspended over controversial social media posts, will have the whip restored, Reform UK have confirmed.

Councillor Paul Cutts was suspended by Reform UK in January while the party investigated Facebook posts he shared after being elected, which were subsequently deleted.

The posts shared on Cutts' Facebook page, created by other users and shared on his profile, included three which targeted the Muslim faith in a derogatory way, with a fourth criticising niqab face veils, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

An investigation into Cutts has now closed and he will have the whip restored on February 23, the party confirmed.

A spokesperson for Reform UK said: "Paul has acknowledged mistakes were made and has taken steps to address the concerns raised.

"We now look forward to welcoming him back into the Reform UK group later this month and continuing to focus on delivering for residents across Doncaster."

Reform UK said while standards for elected representatives must be upheld, the party also believes in allowing individuals to learn from events and move forward positively.

During his suspension, Cutts received praise from residents after visiting the Jamia Masjid Sultania Mosque in Doncaster, which he described as an "informative" and "extremely enlightening" session.

He said: "The Jamia Masjid Sultania Mosque is a truly beautiful building and extremely impressive. Since my visit, I realise even more now what a thoughtless action it was to share the social media posts I did."

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