Councillor resigns after racist slurs are exposed
THE racist and Islamophobic comments tweeted by a Birmingham city councillor were “offensive”, “troubling” and “unacceptable”, the council’s interim chief executive said.
Graeme Betts, who stepped in this month to the top role, has set out the support available to any staff affected by the actions of Conservative councillor Rick Payne in an all-staff memo.
He said the incident had “deeply troubled” the entire corporate leadership team at the council and was “not reflective of the values of our council”.
Payne, 59, resigned as a councillor for Kingstanding after our story outlined the findings of our joint investigation with anti-extremist organisation Hope Not Hate.
In his role as a ward councillor and a member of the council’s planning committee, Payne would have had regular contact with staff of all backgrounds, as well as being a public face of the organisation.
The city council, now under Mr Betts’ tenure following the resignation of Deborah Cadman, has recently launched its improvement and recovery plan, described as an eradefining plan to change its trajectory as it seeks to overcome financial issues. Headlines revealing a racist at the heart of the council would have been hard to stomach in the wake of that glimpse of positivity.
Mr Betts emailed staff and members: “I would like to apologise to colleagues who have been affected by these offensive remarks.
“The messages posted by Mr Payne are unacceptable and not reflective of the values of our council.
“We are committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment, and we take such matters seriously.
“There is a clear focus on behaviours and culture within our Improvement and Recovery Plan and our Everyone’s Battle, Everyone’s Business Strategy which we will continue to prioritise.
“I understand that colleagues will be upset, and I would encourage you to speak to your line manager for support. You can also reach out to the health and wellbeing support open to all council colleagues.”
He also said he would particularly reach out to staff networks including Asian and Allies’ Network to “talk about how we as an organisation address these issues”.
Payne was elected to Birmingham City Council in May 2022. His downfall came over posts he put out on an account on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, where he shared selfies and personal comments while also referring to Islam as a dangerous religion and pressed for people to “take Britain back”.
He spoke of a “civil uprising” on the way and said “blood will spill”.
Mr Payne said: “I have been suffering with mental health issues and at times have not even been aware of what I have tweeted. I am deeply sorry for anything offensive on the account and I have therefore deleted the account. I am taking up offers of support and will not be commenting further while I am seeking help.”
Muslim councillor Cllr Waseem Zaffar (Lab) said of the news of the offensive social media post, which was revealed on the eve of Eid: “Shocked and disappointed by this revelation. Rick Payne’s views are disgraceful.
“During these final moments of Ramadan I want to thank all those amazing Brummies who have stood in solidarity with Muslims – many have fasted, hosted and/ or attended Ifthar events.”