'Council leader should apologise about posts'
BBCWest Yorkshire's deputy mayor has called for the leader of Bradford Council to apologise over social media posts after an MP said they showed "deeply troubling views".
Alison Lowe, whose role covers policing and crime, said while the posts by Reform UK councillor Stephen Place did not break the law, they had caused offence.
She hoped the national leader of Reform, Nigel Farage, would also condemn the posts, which appeared between 2023 and 2025, before Place was elected and which have since been deleted. The BBC has seen the posts.
Place has declined to comment on the matter and Reform and Farage have yet to respond after being contacted by the BBC.
Lowe spoke to BBC Radio Leeds during the programme's monthly Message the Mayor slot.
She said: "I've seen the posts that (MP) Anna Dixon wrote about.
"They're very unsavoury. They are definitely misogynistic, definitely Islamophobic, racist - yes. Are they a crime? No, they don't hit the threshold for a crime.
"I would like to think that he will comment at some point and apologise for the offence that has been caused.
"I'd like to think that Nigel Farage would comment and condemn the sexist, misogynistic, racist, Islamophobic views that were expressed."
Last month, Shipley MP Dixon contacted Farage over the posts by Place, who was made leader of Bradford Council on 19 May.
She said various posts made between November 2023 and December 2025 showed "deeply troubling views".
In her letter, Dixon highlighted posts which she claims include sexually explicit material, and others which "perpetuate" religious and racial discrimination.
She described one which she said depicts a well-known female MP as a sex worker using a computer-generated image with the caption "Would you £1?" underneath.
Others used imagery of war damage in Gaza "as a point of mockery", Dixon said, and present negative stereotypes of ethnic minorities and asylum seekers.
Lowe said posts like these made people feel unsafe in their own communities, and that included herself.
She said: "People might want to consider their positions, but I'm not calling for that.
"At the end of the day that's a matter for him and his party.
"He's just been elected. We will work with Stephen Place just as we will work with all the politicians that have been elected in May because our job is to serve the people."
The BBC contacted Place and Bradford Council press office but the councillor declined to comment.
The Reform press office and Farage were also contacted, but neither has responded.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
