South Tyneside magistrates gave the Sunderland councillor a 12-month community order over a grossly offensive Facebook post about Nigerians. His lawyer says the defence intends to appeal.
South Tyneside magistrates court convicted Sunderland councillor Glenn Gibbins on 9 November 2026, over a grossly offensive Facebook post and sentenced him to a 12-month community order requiring 150 hours of unpaid work. His defense lawyer, Adam King, said the defense intended to appeal to the Crown Court.
The case concerned a March 2024 post about Nigerians in Sunderland. Both sides agreed it was offensive; the question for the court was whether it was grossly offensive. District Judge Zoe Passfield found that Gibbins intended it to be grossly offensive because he was displeased by the number of Nigerians in the city.
Gibbins was elected to Sunderland council in May 2026 as a Reform UK councillor. He told the court that the party had suspended him, reinstated him and then suspended him again, The Guardian said.
Gibbins said he thought Reform approached him in March to stand for council because a T-shirt featuring Nigel Farage was displayed at his personalized gifts and T-shirt kiosk. He saw the council role as a source of income during his business’s summer lull.
Passfield ruled that the post breached the Malicious Communications Act 1988, which covers indecent or grossly offensive communications in England and Wales, including electronic messages. Prosecutor Emma Dowling said the post discussed exterminating a group of people and that treating it as unserious disregarded history.
Gibbins said the post was meant as tongue-in-cheek humor and was not meant to be taken literally. King called it a stupid, unfunny joke and pointed to the importance UK courts have placed on free speech.
Godwin Ejeh, a Nigerian community leader in Sunderland and a Liberal Democrat council candidate in May, testified that he called an emergency meeting after the post came to light. He said residents were distressed and feared for their own and their children’s safety. They wanted an apology and decided to protest outside city hall.
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Government guidance says an appeal to the Crown Court usually must be brought within 15 working days of sentencing. A late application must explain the delay and provide evidence, and the court may decline to consider it. The guidance instructs appellants to complete the relevant Appeal to the Crown Court form and send it by post or email.
The court decides an appeal at a hearing where both sides can present their cases. If an appeal against conviction succeeds, the sentence no longer applies; if a sentence appeal succeeds, the sentence is reduced. The guidance says the original conviction or sentence might also change if an appeal is lost.
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