Ex-leader racism probe 'not in council's remit'

A council says it has not upheld allegations of racist social media posts by its former leader because he "was not acting in his capacity as a councillor" at the time.

Complaints about Ian Cooper's behaviour fell outside the scope of Staffordshire County Council's remit to investigate, it said.

Although he quit as leader of the council, Cooper has remained an independent councillor in Tamworth after he was expelled from Reform UK amid the furore.

A Reform UK spokesman said Cooper was "expelled from Reform and walked away from the appeal process. He has not applied to rejoin the party." Cooper has been contacted for a comment.

Staffordshire County Council launched an investigation following the allegations made against Cooper in December 2025.

"The investigation found that councillor Cooper was not acting in his capacity as a councillor with regards to the complaints made, and as such, the complaints could not be upheld," a spokesperson for the authority said.

They added that all evidence and allegations provided by complainants against him were investigated independently in line with the council's code of conduct.

Posts at the centre of complaints about Cooper included one making reference to then foreign secretary David Lammy, which stated "no foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in Parliament".

Cooper took charge of Staffordshire County Council after local elections in May 2025, when Reform won control from the Conservatives.

He was kicked out of the party in December, after the posts came to light, with Reform's national leader Nigel Farage saying at the time that his party's investigation did "not look good" for Cooper.

Activist group Hope Not Hate claimed to have found racist posts on an account on X which it said was linked to the former council leader.

His alleged activity on Facebook also came under scrutiny after the Reform UK Exposed account on X claimed he had a high level of engagement with page called The European Race, which promotes white supremacy.

"The council standards process can only consider behaviour that occurred after Ian Cooper became a county councillor," a spokesperson for the Conservative opposition group said.

"Members of the public can read his social media posts over the last few years and form their own opinion about what they represent," they added.

A number of people including current Reform UK councillor Gary Bentley, who represents Cheadle West, have made calls on social media for Cooper to be reinstated to the party.

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