Ex-Stoke-on-Trent mayor's 'racist' posts breached code

Jackie Barnes referred herself to the council's standards process following complaints

A former lord mayor breached the councillor code of conduct by sharing "racist" Facebook posts.

Members of the public complained about 27 posts relating to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that ex-Stoke-on-Trent mayor Jackie Barnes had shared on her personal Facebook account.

They included references to murdered soldier Lee Rigby.

Five posts in all were in breach of code, a council investigation has concluded.

They were all shared after 25 May when George Floyd, an African American man, died in the custody of police in Minnesota and prompted protests across the world under the BLM banner.

Mrs Barnes has previously apologised over the content.

Members of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's Standards Committee will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to uphold the findings, and what action, if any, to take, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mrs Barnes's posts included one that questioned why there were no mass protests following soldier Lee Rigby's street murder.

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Another post shared by Mrs Barnes, about a white Dallas shopkeeper supposedly murdered by BLM protesters, was entirely false, according to fact checkers for news agency Reuters.

The probe into her actions looked into whether posts broke rules by not showing respect to others, causing the council to breach its equalities duties, or by bringing the council or Mrs Barnes's office as a councillor into disrepute.

The five posts were judged to have done so on one or both of the criteria.

Mrs Barnes referred herself to the council's standards process following complaints.

The councillor for the Trent Vale ward was sitting as a City Independent member at the time of the posts, but is now a non-aligned independent.

'Kidnap and torture'

In a letter submitted to investigators, she claimed she had been threatened with kidnap and torture after her posts came to light.

She wrote: "I cannot deny that I shared certain posts. Not at any time was there any intention to hurt or offend any other human being, neither was I acting in any professional domain, it was my private Facebook account.

"Not at any time have I ever discriminated against anyone at all in any capacity at all, at any time in my life."

'Insult to city'

A spokesman for Staffordshire Association for Black Lives Equality (SABLE) said: "We believe that communities are best served by those with competence, understanding and respect for ALL members.

"Jackie Barnes's racist social media posts are an insult to the great city that we live in."