A Reform UK council’s deputy leader has admitted to using an AI-generated picture in a blog post about “problem tenants, recent refugees and homeless families” being “shipped” to the region.
Darren Grimes, a former GB News presenter, published a blog post in which he said London councils were “quietly shifting” their tenants “hundreds of miles north”, linking the issue to Durham’s housing waiting lists.
Accompanying the blog post is a picture of around a dozen non-white men in tracksuits next to a coach on a housing estate.
However, the Durham county councillor admitted the photo was AI-generated and was “obviously for illustrative purposes”.
Social media users who commented on his post and shared the article appeared to believe the photo was authentic.
“The blog say families that looks like single men to me,” one wrote, while another commented: “And they have matching tracksuits! Like a travelling football team.”
However, others were able to spot the AI-generated picture, with one person writing: “Is that another AI image there? Looks like one – perspective is all wrong.”
Another said: “A picture that doesn’t tally with your words does not inspire confidence in you or what you say.”
When asked by The Independent about the use of the photo, Mr Grimes said it was “entirely predictable that the left-wing media is hyperventilating over an AI-generated stock image instead of the fact that southern councils are using the North as a dumping ground for their housing failures and mass migration.”
He added: “Make no mistake, this is happening, people are being pushed to the back of the queue in their own communities.
The councillor pointed to a recent report in the BBC which said hundreds of people had relocated to parts in the northeast as councils in their original areas do not have enough housing.
The blog post, which he also shared on his social media accounts, said Durham County Council had received official notification of almost 100 households having moved from London to County Durham in two years.
In the article, Mr Grimes pledged to prioritise veterans, domestic abuse victims, and others who “genuinely need it”.
The council currently gives preference to those who have lived in the region for at least a year, but Mr Grimes said this would be increased to a two-year local connection rule.
He also said “sensible exemptions” will exist for people such as care leavers and those who work or have caring responsibilities in the region.
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