Reform UK Suspends Councillor Who Said John Bercow Should Be Hanged

A Reform UK councillor who said John Bercow should be hanged has been suspended by the party.

David Rowan, who was elected to Kirklees Council in May, also praised Tommy Robinson and said gay people should not have children.

His past comments on social media were unearthed by anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate.

Replying to a tweet in 2019 calling for former Commons Speaker Bercow to be investigated, Rowan said: “Hang the dwarf.”

The previous month, he had shared an image on Twitter of parliament with the sign “Gunpowder deliveries first right” outside.

He also said “we should get our pick forks and whippets and demolish London and turn Westminster into a Wetherspoons”.

In another post from June 2019, he said: “As a parent not at school ... I don’t believe gays should have kids full stop.”

The following month, he replied to a post from anti-Muslim far-right agitator Robinson saying “I salute you for caring”.

In response, a Reform spokesman said: “Cllr Rowan has been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation.”

Reform leader Nigel Farage has spoken about his concerns about his personal safety, especially in the wake of the alleged murder of Anne Widdecombe, the Reform spokeswoman, at her home last month.

Counter-terror police investigating her death have reopened a probe into an alleged firebomb attack at his South London home.

Farage said: “It’s a great, great tragedy that it took the death of Ann for the security services in Britain to finally take seriously the safety and security of Reform politicians and Reform prominent figures.

“Up until that moment, we had been treated very differently to everybody else.”

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