Newly-elected councillor who called Holocaust a hoax quits Reform UK - but not the council
Cllr Jay Cooper said his comments were "poorly expressed" when he described the deaths of six million Jews as propaganda
Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Southport Lead.
One of the big shocks of last week’s Sefton Council election - covered here in our previous edition - was a man known to have denied the Holocaust among other conspiracy theory posts winning a sear.
Jay Cooper, now Cllr Jay Cooper, hadn’t responded to any news stories about his online activities ahead of the election and was duly elected to represent the people of Bootle West - defeating a sitting Labour cabinet member by 16 votes in the process.
He has now finally spoken publicly about the matter, though his apology has fallen well short of convincing his political rivals.
Southport briefing
🌹 Lancashire County Council will form a cross-party group to ensure that the recommendations from The Southport Inquiry are properly implemented. The council was given 12 recommendations by inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford which included carrying out a comprehensive review of how its children services assess and manage online harms, improving support and training for social workers, and bolstering its training around Prevent referrals and autism diagnoses. Sir Adrian expects a progress update by October and an action plan is to be implemented to ensure adequate work is completed by then, with the group to be led by County Councillor Simon Evans, who is Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Children’s and Families. A report seen by The Southport Lead states: “The council is deeply sorry for the failures identified in the report and for the part it played in the systemic shortcomings that preceded the attack in Southport. There are no words that can ease the grief of the families who lost loved ones, or the pain of those who were injured and traumatised”
✊ Southport MP Patrick Hurley has given his backing to Keir Starmer as dozens of his Labour colleagues called on the Prime Minister to announce he would step down from the role. Hurley was one of more than 100 MPs who signed a letter giving their support to Starmer and in a series of interviews he warned change of the potential negative impacts of such a change during a time of national and international instability. He said: “The one challenge we have got as a government is to get our economic performance back up to a decent standard in order to better fund our public services and do all the good Labour things we want to do. And we won’t be able to do that if we continue with the destabilisation we saw with Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak and a whole litany of Conservative prime ministers who came and went and did no good for the country. The last thing we should do is tear a leaf out of their book.”
🚶 More than £180,000 was raised for Queenscourt Hospice at the annual Star Trekk walk. The record total came as 2,000 people took part in Friday’s walk, which started at Adventure Coast Theme Park, benefitted from sponsorship by local and national companies and involved live entertainment along the route. As previously reported by The Southport Lead, hospice bosses have warned the facility is at risk of closure amid a funding crisis which sees it losing £2m a year. Alex Hegarty, Event Fundraiser at Queenscourt Hospice, said: “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the support shown for this year’s Star Trekk. To see 2,000 people come together in support of Queenscourt Hospice was incredibly special, and raising more than £180,000 so far is simply amazing. Events like this would not be possible without our sponsors, volunteers, entertainers, local businesses and every single person who signed up and took part. The atmosphere throughout the evening was unforgettable, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped make Star Trekk 2026 such a huge success. Roll on 2027!”
🙏 An appeal has been launched to find the next of kin for a man who died in Southport. Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley Coroner’s Office is asking for help in relation to 62-year-old Howard Bamber, who died at home on on Scarisbrick Street on May 5. According to Merseyside Police, there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Anyone with any information is asked to call 0151 934 2972 or email hannah.lavery@sefton.gov.uk
Newly-elected councillor who called Holocaust a hoax quits Reform UK - but not the council
By Jamie Lopez
A man who was elected to Sefton Council after posts containing Holocaust denial were made public has quit Reform UK but vowed to continue his role as councillor.
Jay Cooper won 705 votes at last week’s election to be elected in Bootle West as one of five Reform winners across Sefton and the only one outside Southport.
In the weeks before polling day, Cooper was exposed for sharing conspiracy theories including stating his belief that the Holocaust, misspelled as Hallocaust, was a “hoax”. To back up this claim, Cooper added: “There wasn’t even 6 million Jews in Europe at the time. Propaganda.”
Despite repeated requests, Reform UK refused to comment on Cooper other than to say it was looking into his posts. When Nigel Farage was questioned after Cooper’s election, he said the newly-elected member was not welcome in the party but still Reform UK has refused to state whether any action was or would be taken against him.
Cllr Cooper, who had also refused to engage with the media, has now issued an apology in which he sought to minimise the effect of his previous comments without clarifying what he actually meant.
Writing on his Facebook page, which has now been renamed to include his ‘Cllr’ title, Cooper: “I apologise this has took so long. I want to start by addressing comments I made regarding the Holocaust last year.
“The Holocaust was real. I was not denying the existence of the camps or the systematic murder carried out by the Nazi regime. I have visited Auschwitz multiple times and have seen firsthand the conditions and historical evidence of those atrocities.
“My comments were poorly expressed and have understandably caused concern and upset. I was not denying the suffering of millions of victims or the crimes committed by the Nazis. I accept that my words failed to reflect the seriousness and sensitivity this subject demands, and for that I sincerely apologise. I would also like to apologise to anyone who was offended or hurt by my comments.”
At no point in his statement did Cllr Cooper explain how the idea of the Holocaust being a hoax was a case of something being “poorly expressed”.
Cllr John Pugh, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group in Sefton, was left confounded by the apology.
He said: “It’s hard to equate the author of this measured and apologetic statement with the previous poster of atrocious conspiracy theories or know which is the real thing.
