Reform councillor guilty of breaking electoral law

A Reform UK politician who posted a "defamatory" social media message about a Conservative candidate in the run-up to last year's elections has been found guilty of breaking electoral law.

Andy Osborn, 74, was chairman of the North East Cambridgeshire Reform Party in April 2025, when he posted the message.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard he wrote on Facebook, "Samantha Hoy worked in the care industry but allegedly was sacked for fraud no wonder Wisbech is in such a state. Reform UK will fix it", in April 2025.

Osborn, who was found guilty of making or publishing a false statement under the Representation of the People Act 1983, said his account was hacked.

District Judge Nina Tempia dismissed Osborn's claim that his account had been hacked and found him guilty of the charge.

The conviction means that Osborn, who was elected as a councillor for Roman Bank and Peckover in May 2025, must vacate his seat, and there will have to be a by-election.

Osborn, of March, Cambridgeshire, was ordered to pay £1,800, comprising a £1,000 fine, £400 costs and a £400 surcharge.

The court heard the allegations stem from incidents in the build-up to the local elections, which included a dispute between Reform UK campaigners, including Osborn, who was alleged to have told the mayor of Wisbech, Councillor Sidney Imafidon, who is a black man, to "speak English".

Police were called to the incident on 11 April, which is said to have happened at Wisbech market place, when questions were raised over whether Reform had a licence for a stall and if it was being used for political purposes, the court heard.

Imafidon asked them to move, and the police were called.

Osborn, who has hearing problems, said he only asked Imafidon to "speak clearly".

Hoy, a councillor for Wisbech South, then claimed that Osborn started an "argument unnecessarily" when she was with colleague Steve Tierney at a postal vote count on 25 April.

The message on Osborn's account appeared online later that day.

Hoy, who works in the care industry and has never been sacked or faced fraud allegations, later responded online, describing the claims as "an absolute lie and extremely defamatory and damaging".

Hoy reported the matter to the police and took screenshots of messages from the account in Osborn's name.

The court heard another of the messages said: "I have taken a lot of slander in reference to me being a racist, I have family who are black and I am proud of them."

Osborn stressed he did not write or publish the posts and his account was hacked, and suggested the culprit may have been a neighbour or an online troll.

He recalled that Hoy told him at the postal count, "Oh, you can hear now there is not a black man in the room".

He was "offended" by her comment but did not react, and told the court: "I am not a racist. I do not judge anybody by their skin colour."

Osborn said "there was not any form of aggression or shouting", and he only "touched" Tierney on the shoulder and did not "poke" him.

Osborn does not have relatives who are black, he told the trial.

Mia Gibson, defending Osborn, suggested that he "was not the author or maker" of any of the posts.

She suggested Hoy brought proceedings to "disparage him and his party", which Hoy denied.

After sentencing, Hoy said: "I am just pleased that justice has been served. People should run for elections fairly and squarely. They should not tell lies about people.

"The idea he had been hacked was nonsense.

"He was just doing it for retaliation because he felt that he was called a racist in a private setting – that does not give him the right to break the law."

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