Darren Grimes has been accused of lying to avoid holding council surgeries after claiming police told him not to — a claim police now say isn’t true.
The newly elected Deputy Leader of Reform UK-led Durham County Council told a constituent that security concerns raised by police had stopped him from organising public meetings. But both Durham Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner have now confirmed they never said that.
🚫 Police: ‘We didn’t say that’
In a statement, a senior spokesperson for PCC Joy Allen said:
“The Police have not advised councillors not to hold surgeries in the community. They would only do this in exceptional circumstances.”
Durham Constabulary echoed that, telling Byline Times:
“No, we have not told councillors they should not hold in-person surgeries for security reasons.”
🪧 ‘Avoiding accountability’
The claim emerged after a Durham resident contacted Grimes to raise local parking issues and asked for details of any upcoming surgeries. Grimes replied:
“The police have advised me not to conduct such events due to security concerns, which I do not want to do.”
The voter didn’t buy it — and after doing their own digging, they told reporters they believed Grimes was dodging responsibility.
🧑⚖️ Other councillors raise eyebrows
One unnamed opposition councillor told Byline:
“I’ve never had that sort of advice from a police officer… If there were concerns, it’d be about how to do them safely, not to avoid them altogether.”
They added that it’s common for councillors to have someone with them at events, and that police are “fantastic” when it comes to supporting elected officials.
📋 Grimes updates register… after being caught
Last week, Byline Times also revealed Grimes had failed to declare his membership of political organisations — despite bragging online about being in the Free Speech Union.
After being challenged, his register of interests was updated to include both the FSU and Reform UK.
🤖 Starmer ‘deepfake’ post still hanging over him
Earlier this year, Grimes was slammed by anti-hate groups for posting AI-generated images of Labour leader Keir Starmer in Islamic dress with Muslim women — one captioned “July 5th 2024.”
Grimes, who left GB News in March, has since launched DDog Media Ltd in Newcastle, a media firm described as offering “representation services” and listed as a marketing consultancy.
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