A former Reform UK councillor insists she left the party before she was suspended over 'unacceptable' tweets.

Lynn Dean, Staffordshire county councillor for May Bank and Wolstanton, had the whip suspended by Reform UK last month because of comments she made on an X account she had not disclosed to the party.

Anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate had uncovered the offensive tweets about Black people and Muslims, which were posted prior to Cllr Dean being elected.

But Cllr Dean, breaking her silence for the first time since the furore, says she had already cancelled her membership before Reform UK announced her suspension.

She said: "On Friday 27 March I left Reform of my own accord. I had received a phone call from a Reform spokesman who told me that I could remain as a member of Reform UK. However, I decided to leave straight after.

"I sent Reform an email cancelling my membership and followed it up with a telephone call to ensure that they had received my email, of which they confirmed.

"Whilst on the phone I cancelled my membership with Reform for the second time. So, any suspension was after I had left Reform UK."

Council leader Martin Murray announced on 27 March that Cllr Dean had been suspended from the party 'because of unacceptable comments made on an anonymous account which was not disclosed during vetting'.

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Cllr Dean has since resigned from the Knutton seat on Newcastle Borough Council, which she was due to defend in next month's local elections.

She remains an independent councillor on Staffordshire County Council.