A Reform UK councillor in Warwickshire is facing a police investigation following a complaint made about remarks in a leaked email concerning Pride. Councillor Wayne Briggs, who serves on Warwickshire County Council, described Pride as a 'dangerous ideology' and claimed it had been 'hijacked by groomers and mentally ill men in dresses'.
The controversy stems from an email in which Cllr Briggs voiced his objections to flying the Pride Flag at Shire Hall, the council's headquarters. In the message, he wrote: 'This movement has been hijacked by groomers and mentally ill men in dresses gyrating in front of children and pushing a delusion that you can somehow change from male to female and vice versa if you're unhappy with your own body.'
Despite the backlash, Cllr Briggs has publicly stated he stands by the concerns raised in the email and will not be issuing an apology. He acknowledged that while the comments were intended for private correspondence, he would employ different language if speaking publicly in his capacity as a portfolio holder for children, families, education, and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Warwickshire Police have confirmed they have received a complaint regarding the matter and are in the process of gathering further details. A spokesperson for Warwickshire Pride has strongly condemned Cllr Briggs' comments, calling them 'transphobic' and 'hate speech'. The organisation has demanded his resignation, asserting he is 'unfit for the role he currently holds' and that his remarks constitute 'a clear breach of the code of conduct and principles of public life and a hate crime that must be dealt with'.
The Crown Prosecution Service's guidance on transphobic hate crime specifies that an offence is committed if an individual uses 'threatening words or behaviour, or displays any written material, which is threatening', with the intent to 'stir up hatred'. The guidance emphasises that 'threatening' is the operative word, rather than 'abusive or insulting'.
Reform's county council leader, George Finch, has offered his support to Cllr Briggs, characterising the email as a 'personal view in private correspondence' and not an official statement from the council. Mr Finch, who himself is the subject of a separate code of conduct complaint from Warwickshire Pride regarding his views on gender ideology in libraries, stated that cabinet positions would not be determined by 'online pressure or trial by social media' and expressed his confidence in Cllr Briggs to continue in his role.