Hampshire Reform councillor shared 'racist' Facebook posts

Cllr Kevin Betsworth was elected to represent Rowhill ward on Rushmoor Borough Council at the local elections on May 7, beating Labour's Fouzia Khan by just 22 votes - 768 to 746.

His now private but previously public Facebook profile contained at least five posts from 2020, which have been shared with the Basingstoke Gazette by a reader who raised concerns about the contents of the posts.

The reader criticised the councillor for "promoting white identity politics," adding: "Aldershot is home to one of the UK's largest Gurkha communities. Many of these residents and their families have served in the British Armed Forces.

Cllr Kevin Betsworth (Image: Rushmoor Borough Council)

"The idea that their elected representatives hold and publicly share these views is, I think, a story that deserves coverage."

The posts include:

• A post by Jim Mawdsley, which the councillor shared on his own profile in June 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, which described George Floyd as someone who "should have been put down a long time ago" and included a graphic calling him a "Violent Racist."
• A post shared by an account named "Sapper Ken", again shared on the councillor's profile, captioned "For those taking a 'knee', this is the correct position" - accompanied by an illustration of a soldier aiming a rifle. The post appeared to mock protesters who were kneeling in solidarity with the BLM movement.
• A post originating from an account named "Davie Quinn", which the councillor shared on his own profile, stating the user was "annoyed at the automatic association with black people" with slavery, alongside an image reading "White Slaves Were Sold For Centuries / All Our Ancestors Took Slaves, Sold Slaves, or Were Slaves / You're Not Special."
• A post declaring "I'm proud to be white" and suggesting people would be too scared to share it for fear of being called racist.
• A post celebrating being a "straight white British grumpy old bastard" alongside a "Straight Pride" graphic on a Union Jack background.

His election comes as Rushmoor Borough Council now has six Reform UK councillors. The borough is home to the UK's largest Nepalese community outside London, with approximately 10,575 people, according to census data; many are the families of former Gurkha soldiers who have served in the British Armed Forces.

Aldershot is also closely associated with the community that it is known locally as "Little Kathmandu."

The revelations follow a separate controversy involving fellow Reform Hampshire County Councillor Ken Tranter, who was elected for Aldershot South and was forced to apologise last week after referring to "non-white persons taking over" a public park in a Facebook post. Cllr Tranter described it as a "poor use of words" but did not explain what he meant.

The reader who contacted the Gazette said that formal complaints about Mr Betsworth's posts have been submitted to Rushmoor Borough Council's Monitoring Officer, Hampshire Constabulary, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, and Reform UK.

Rushmoor Borough Council's code of conduct requires councillors not to discriminate unlawfully, to treat others with respect, and not to damage the reputation of their office or the council where their conduct is linked to their public role.

A spokesperson for Rushmoor Borough Council said: "We have received four complaints relating to alleged online conduct. Two of these related a county councillor and we have passed these on to Hampshire County Council, one related to a former councillor, and we are considering if there is any role for us regarding the fourth complaint. Any complaint would be investigated in line with our formal process: Complaints against a councillor - Rushmoor Borough Council. 

"All councillors elected in the recent local election are currently undergoing a period of induction and training, which includes the code of conduct expected in public office and offers guidance on communications and social media."

Cllr Betsworth, Reform UK, and the Reform UK Aldershot chair have been contacted for comment.