Northamptonshire councillor reinstated after 'Pride is sin' tweet

Councillor King Lawal said he "had not intended to cause harassment, alarm or distress" with his Pride tweet

A Conservative councillor who was suspended after tweeting that "Pride is not a virtue but a Sin" has been reinstated to the local party.

King Lawal, 31, said his post on the site, now called X, was "an expression of my Christian faith by quoting passages from the Bible".

He has returned to his role on North Northamptonshire Council.

Labour councillors protested silently and wore rainbow sashes as he made a statement about his return.

Mr Lawal's now-deleted tweet, posted during Pride month, said: "When did Pride become a thing to celebrate.

"Because of Pride Satan fell as an arch Angel. Pride is not a virtue but a Sin."

Mr Lawal, who represents Wellingborough's Brickhill and Queensway ward, previously sought to clarify the intention behind his tweet, saying: "When Christians refer to 'sin' or 'sinners' we are speaking of ourselves.

"I therefore do not come against those celebrating Pride to attack who they are, my intention was to say that I would not celebrate this any more than I would celebrate a month of gossip or anything else the Bible calls sin."

At a full council meeting on Thursday, Conservative leader Jason Smithers invited Mr Lawal to speak, saying "the complaint process is now complete".

Mr Smithers said: "On behalf of the Conservative members of the council, I can confirm we treat all members of the community equally and without bias."

But the Labour councillors protested against Mr Lawal's reinstatement by wearing rainbow sashes and standing up as he made his statement.

Labour councillors wore rainbow sashes in a show of solidarity

Labour leader Matt Keane and deputy councillor Leanne Buckingham said: "We believed it was important as a Labour Group to show solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community many of whom have been deeply upset by the tweet from councillor King Lawal."

They said his statement on Thursday "did not go far enough to address the hurt", adding: "Councillor Lawal has been given the Conservative whip back and we don't believe he expressed any apology in his statement."

The Labour councillors were asked to sit back down and accused of "intimidating behaviour" by the monitoring officer, although Mr Lawal said he was not intimidated.

In his statement, Mr Lawal said the tweet was "an expression of my Christian faith by quoting passages from the Bible. This was an exercise in free speech."

He added: "As a councillor, I act equally for the residents of the areas in which I am elected in all areas of debate and discussion."

The Christian Concern group, which is supporting him, said: "The repercussions faced by councillor Lawal are unprecedented, demonstrating that Christians who hold public office can no longer express their beliefs without having their careers and lives dismantled."

The group said his suspension came "following significant pressure from Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster".

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "The Conservative Party has a robust complaints process in place.

"This process is rightly a confidential one, so that complainants can come forward in confidence."