Dacorum Borough Councillor who posted threatening graphic regains position

A Liberal Democrat councillor who posted a threatening graphic on social media has been readmitted to his party’s Dacorum Borough Council group.

In September last year, Ian Bristow posted a graphic on his X page that showed a young girl holding a gun, captioned “Shut the f*** up TERF”. The term TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.

Cllr Ian Bristow is a Liberal Democrat representative of Berkhamsted Castle ward. Credit: Dacorum Borough Council.

placeholder image — Cllr Ian Bristow is a Liberal Democrat representative of Berkhamsted Castle ward. Credit: Dacorum Borough Council.

His post was a reply to Natalie Bird, who was removed as a Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Wakefield in 2018 after she wore a top reading “Woman: Adult Human Female” to a party meeting.

At the time, Cllr Bristow was suspended from the group, deleted his post and apologised for it, saying that “the tone and graphic used were inappropriate”.

A spokesperson for Dacorum Liberal Democrats told the Local Democracy Reporting Service today: “The matter was referred to the party’s independent complaints process, resulting in Cllr Bristow’s party membership being suspended.

“Following completion of mandatory training, his membership has been reinstated, and he has been readmitted to the Liberal Democrat group.”

Cllr Bristow, who represents Berkhamsted Castle ward, declined to comment.