CLA · On the Record
Independent councillor, Benwell, Scotswood and Denton Burn, Newcastle City Council
“We don’t want Muslims in our country because they rape white English girls and commit terrorist attacks.”
Context
The Times reported on 8 September 2026 that the words above appeared in a May 2025 X post attributed to Daniel Astley’s since-deleted account. The post was directed at independent MP Adnan Hussain and also told him to “piss off back to Pakistan”. Astley was elected to Newcastle City Council in May 2026.
Published archived images from the deleted account also included “We won’t want this sick Islamic culture in our country” and a call for the “mass emigration of non-Europeans, Muslims, Africans etc.” The exact day and full conversation threads for the posts have not been independently established by CLA.
Response and political status
Astley said he wished to retract all previous social-media comments, apologised for offence and said he supported freedom of religion and expression. He described his current position as support for reversing mass and illegal immigration through sustained net-negative migration, which he said would be peaceful and political.
Reform UK expelled Astley with immediate effect in September 2026. The party’s Newcastle council group leader said the decision was based on Astley’s undisclosed links to the Homeland Party, which Reform treats as a proscribed group under its rules. This was a party decision, not a council standards or legal finding. Astley continues as a Newcastle councillor and is listed as Independent.
Evidence
Primary report, quotation and response: The Times, 8 September 2026.
Archived images, expulsion statement and current political status: Local Democracy Reporting Service via North East Bylines, 14 September 2026.
Election and public office: Newcastle City Council election result, 7 May 2026; Newcastle City Council meeting record, 7 October 2026.
Date of original statement: May 2025, according to The Times; the exact posting day is not publicly established in the source material reviewed by CLA.
Evidence status: Statements attributed to Astley’s deleted X account in published archived images. CLA has not authenticated the deleted account or complete threads independently.
Legal status: Party expulsion for an undisclosed political association. CLA located no published council Code of Conduct finding, criminal charge, conviction or tribunal finding concerning the quoted posts. Last reviewed: 24 October 2026.
About On the Record
CLA publishes sourced statements with context and documented responses so readers may assess the evidence themselves. Inclusion does not imply illegality. Corrections or additional source material: policy@civillibertiesaction.org.uk.
Source checked · Context preserved · Evidence available.
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