Welsh Reform councillor teams up with Tommy Robinson allies in parents meeting

Emily Price 

A Reform councillor has chaired a meeting with a far-right group and parents of young children to discuss "completely untrue" allegations about religious education at a Swansea school.

Reform Councillor Francesca O’Brien claimed that pupils at Sea View Community Primary School in Mayhill were being forced to pray on Muslim mats and recite prayers from the Quran and that Christianity wasn't getting the same representation in lessons on religion.

The claims have also been made by designated hate group Voice of Wales.

Swansea Council have strongly refuted these allegations.

A spokesperson said: "The claims being made are not true.

"We have a strong ongoing relationship with our local churches. We have regular visits and our pupils participate in major Christian festivals with them including Christmas, Easter and the annual Harvest Festival.

"This was the first time someone of the Islamic faith from our local mosque was invited to the school.

"It is untrue to claim pupils were told they would all be Muslim by the time they get to year six or that they were taught Islamic prayers.

"We pride ourselves on being a school where everyone is treated with dignity, tolerance and respect.

"Like all schools in Wales we are required to include religious studies as part of our curriculum.

"Lessons and assemblies mainly reflect the broad traditions of Christian belief but we also try to give our pupils a basic understanding of the world’s other major religions."

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Fraudster

Cllr O’Brien appeared to team up with Voice of Wales' two co-founders at a public meeting for parents of children that attend Sea View School.

The purported media outlet is run by failed UKIP candidate Stan Robinson and convicted fraudster Dan Morgan.

The pair are associates of one of the UK’s most prominent anti-Islam activists, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – better known as Tommy Robinson.

In recent weeks Voice of Wales have made unsubstantiated claims that young children are regularly being "abducted" by "migrant men" in Swansea city centre.

It's understood that senior Reform figures have warned the party's elected representatives in Wales and potential Senedd candidates not to interact with Voice of Wales.

Despite this, the far-right group posted a photo on Facebook on Tuesday (October 7) of Cllr O’Brien meeting with the group's co-founders and parents.

On the left of the image, the Reform councillor can he seen in a conversation with Voice of Wales co-founder Stan Robinson.

Sharing clips of Cllr O’Brien repeating claims about the school on GB News later that evening, Voice of Wales described the Reform newbie as a "friend".

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'Hate'

Leader of Swansea Council, Rob Stewart, says Cllr O’Brien - who represents Mumbles - has "questions to answer" about her relationship with the extremist group.

Cllr Stewart said: "She claims that parents have reached out to her - but why would parents in Townhill and Mayhill reach out to a councillor from such an affluent area of the city on this matter?

"If Cllr O’Brien was approached by parents - how did it come to pass that Voice of Wales were promoting her meeting and what did she do to distance herself from the group?

"It's incumbent on all elected representative to not stoke hatred and intolerance or feed the types of agendas that Voice of Wales are intent on pushing.

"Cllr O’Brien has done nothing to take the temperature down. She has contributed to stresses that our teaching staff are facing in Sea View Primary.

"Mayhill is still recovering from the riots of a couple of years ago. What Cllr O’Brien has done is extremely irresponsible."

Cllr O’Brien hit the headlines in 2019 when the Guardian reported how she had posted comments online saying people on benefits needed "putting down".

She defected to Nigel Farage's party from the Conservatives in August - leaving the employment of Tory Senedd Member Tom Giffard.

We asked Cllr O’Brien the following questions:

*Did you invite Voice of Wales to your meeting yourself?

*Are you friends with Stan Robinson or the group's co-founder Dan Morgan?

*Are you aware that Dan Morgan was found guilty of scamming pensioners in 2023?

*Are you aware that the pair are associates of Tommy Robinson?

*Do their links to Tommy Robinson concern you at all?

*We understand that the general rules within Reform UK are that members should declare any links to the far-right. Is Reform aware that you invited a far-right group to a discussion about a school?

Cllr O’Brien did not respond.

It's the second time in recent days that Voice of Wales have been linked with Reform in Wales.

At the weekend, Stan Robinson posted a photo of himself smiling alongside ex-Liberal Democrat MP, now Nigel Farage supporter, Lembit Öpik at Reform's Caerphilly headquarters.

'Foul'

Nigel Farage's party is hoping to win the late Hefin David's Senedd seat from Labour in a by-election on October 23.

Reform candidate Llŷr Powell did not respond to Nation.Cymru's questions about why a notorious far-right figure had visited his office.

Voice of Wales were condemned by several political parties in 2021 when they had their YouTube channel banned after it was labelled "racist" and accused of expressing "foul" and "unacceptable" language and ideas.

The group has taken part in several Tommy Robinson protests over the years and have provided support and coverage for demonstrations against asylum accommodation.

Stan Robinson’s current banner image on X is himself with his arm around Tommy Robinson - the former English Defence League leader who was previously jailed for contempt of court.

In recent years he has made repeated outrageous statements such as advocating that the TV journalist Adam Boulton should be castrated with a rusty blade.

Voice of Wales' other founder, Dan Morgan, was handed a suspended sentence in 2023 for his role in a large-scale scam that stole millions from people who believed they were applying for compensation for mis-sold PPI.

Many of the victims who were duped into paying £550 were elderly and vulnerable.