A CABINET member at Staffordshire County Council has apologised for his “choice of words” in social media posts about black women and the police.
Cllr Peter Mason, portfolio holder for strategic highways in the Reform UK administration, had previously posted in March 2024 “what a surprise a statue of a fat-arsed black woman”. In another from April 2024, he said “utter rubbish the police now are a bunch of politically-indoctrinated British-hating scum”.
His posts were highlighted on social media by the Reform UK Party Exposed account on X – previously known as Twitter – after he also said the police “take the knee to BLM, paint rainbows and dance around like fairies”.
Cllr Mason, who has since deleted his account on the platform, noted that the posts pre-dated his membership of the party and his election as a councillor in May of this year.
But he said he regretted the wording of his posts – and insisted he did not hold racist or homophobic views.
Cllr Mason said:
“These tweets were made in 2023 and early 2024 when I was not a member of any political party or elected as a councillor and during a difficult time personally, affected by grief and redundancy.
“I do regret and apologise for my choice of words.
“I do hold traditional views, but have never cared as to someone’s race, colour, religion or orientation. My strongest held belief of all is one of meritocracy and all being equal of opportunity. No-one is better or more worthy than another.
“Having joined Reform and become a councillor, I have found this has allowed me to recover from my negative frame of mind and find a way to a more positive and optimistic outlook.”
