Reform UK Councillor Seeks Judicial Review After Sanction Over Exeter Library Sex Education Display

A Reform UK councillor on Devon County Council is challenging a standards committee decision that found him in breach of the authority’s code of conduct after he raised concerns about materials displayed at a library event involving children.

The dispute centres on the Young Person’s Day event held on 19 October 2025 at Exeter Library as part of the Out There Queer Fest, billed as a celebration for LGBTQIA+ young people and friends. A stall run by the Eddystone Trust, a sexual health charity, was positioned in the library foyer near the children’s art and colouring area. Reports from attendees and councillors described the display as including anatomical models of male and female genitalia, a large purple prosthetic penis, a penis-measuring or girth-measuring device, a condom-fitting device, condoms, and literature referring to “chemsex” (sexual activity involving drugs).

Children as young as three were said to have been present. One mother reportedly complained that she had to explain the prosthetic penis to her children aged six and seven. Other local politicians who attended, including independent councillors Ed Hill and Angi Nash, also raised formal concerns about the items being “wholly inappropriate” for the setting.

On 28 November 2025, Michael Fife Cook, the leader of the Reform UK group on Devon County Council (representing Yelverton Rural), emailed fellow councillors and officers. He wrote that the display made it clear “our council officers can’t be trusted in safeguarding children,” added that “any normal person would look at what was on show at this event and would believe it was not appropriate for young children,” and stated that it made those involved “complicit in promoting and encouraging sexualisation of children.” He argued that councillors were elected to apply common sense and the human element.

Two senior council officers then lodged complaints under the council’s code of conduct, alleging failures relating to courtesy and respect, bullying, and other issues. In July 2026, the Standards Committee (meeting in private) found Fife Cook had failed to treat others with courtesy and respect and had brought the council into disrepute. He was cleared of bullying and other allegations. The committee ordered him to issue a written apology to the officers and undergo tailored code of conduct training with the monitoring officer. Fife Cook described the process as a “stitch-up” and an attempt to quieten him as Reform group leader. Devon County Council stated that safeguarding is its highest priority and that an investigation found no safeguarding breaches at the event.

Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs Devon’s libraries, investigated the event and concluded that the materials were for educational purposes with nothing pornographic or explicit, and that no specific safeguarding incidents had occurred. It noted lessons had been learned; subsequent similar events have been adjusted (including relocation and changes to content and access).

The council has said there was no breach of safeguarding policies, though it has discussed future arrangements.

Fife Cook has refused to apologise.

Supported by the Free Speech Union, he has instructed solicitors (Sharpe Pritchard) who sent a pre-action letter in late September 2026 seeking a judicial review. The challenge contends that the Standards Committee’s decision was irrational, breached his Article 10 rights to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights, failed to provide adequate reasons, and showed apparent bias.

A successful outcome would test the limits of how codes of conduct can be applied to elected councillors raising concerns on public issues.

Devon County Council has not publicly commented in detail on the legal proceedings. The case remains ongoing.