Reform UK burglar image row sees lawyer called
BBCThe Reform UK leader of Warwickshire County Council faces a solicitor-led investigation after a row over a social media post that depicted a Conservative councillor dressed as a burglar.
The 19-year-old has been the subject of complaints alleging he breached the authority's code of conduct by publishing the mocked-up image.
Lawyer Kirsty Cole, of firm Bevan Brittan, has been brought in by the authority as an independent investigator to look into the complaints, marking the second time Finch has faced external legal scrutiny.
The post showing Jan Matecki in burglar garb also attacked the Tory's record while serving on the cabinet prior to the Conservatives losing power to Reform UK in May 2025.
The content appeared on Finch's own social media pages alongside the comment "as we say at County Hall, if you leave it to Jan it'll hit the fan".
The material was later taken down.
Finch admitted in January that he was responsible for sharing the image.
With regard to the investigation, Finch told the BBC he was concerned "these matters are being discussed publicly before they have been concluded" and suggested the process could be "prejudiced".
He added: "Politics is a rough and tumble business. I give as good as I get and have always accepted that robust criticism comes with the job.
"I am regularly attacked, vilified online and mocked for my age by political opponents. I do not run to the standards process every time someone says something unpleasant about me."
It is the second set of complaints against Finch known to have been escalated to an external solicitor by monitoring officer Sarah Duxbury – the county council's most senior legal official.
The first found that Finch had breached the county's code of conduct by publishing information that "could have jeopardised" a child rape case, a verdict he has the right to challenge through the council's Audit and Standards Committee.
The county council's website states that the process only takes forward cases with "potential to damage the public's confidence in local democracy", which are "serious enough, if proven, to justify the costs of an investigation" or "part of a continuing pattern of less serious misconduct that is unreasonably disrupting the business of the council".
It adds "malicious, relatively minor or tit-for-tat" gripes will not normally be taken forward.
Warwickshire County Council's website says proven breaches can be dealt with by writing to the councillor concerned, formal reprimands, removing the councillor from committees or issuing press statements.
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