North Yorkshire councillor faces backlash over grossly insensitive Aberfan disaster meme
Emily Price
A Conservative councillor from North Yorkshire has issued an apology after posting a grossly insensitive meme to social media which mocked the Aberfan Disaster.
Scotton and Lower Wensleydale councillor Tom Jones gave his “completely unreserved apologies” on Monday (May 11) after deleting a post featuring a photograph taken in the aftermath of the Aberfan disaster on October 21, 1966, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed onto a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults.
The disaster is still regarded as one of the most devastating mining tragedies in modern history, with its memory enduring around the world decades later.
Cllr Jones had published the meme in response to a post on X by Jerome O ‘Reilly – a writer for the online news outlet Outpost Media UK.
Sharing an image of right-wing MP Rupert Lowe holding a book about Oliver Cromwell, O ‘Reilly wrote: “I never got the English obsession with Oliver Cromwell.
“The English have never produced a Great Man of History (arguably Winston Churchill but he is infamous) so they try and meme Cromwell into something he wasn’t.”
In a bizarre response to O ‘Reilly, Cllr Jones shared a meme with the caption, “An avalance [sic] of coal” which depicted Pantglas Junior School and surrounding houses in Aberfan buried beneath a spoil tip.
“Coal” or “gem” is used as a slang term to appraise the quality of posts originating from 4chan – an anonymous website that became a major hub for the far-right where users post comments and images without registering accounts.
Following an online backlash, Cllr Jones quickly deleted the Aberfan Disaster meme.
He later published an apology to X, saying: “Completely unreserved apologies to anyone I offended with the earlier photo I posted – I simply googled coal meme and that one came up.”
However, online commentators pointed out that Goggling the words “coal meme” does not produce any images of the Aberfan Disaster.
Calls have been made for Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar and Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch to take action against the Tory councillor.
Cllr Jones was invited to comment but did not respond.
Last year he hit the headlines in the Yorkshire Dales following a 16-month complaints process over an incident in the council chamber in which he pushed down a veteran councillor’s hand during a vote.
North Yorkshire Council’s Standards and Governance Committee Hearings Panel found that Cllr Jones had “appeared to have been too heavy-handed” with fellow Tory and Hutton Rudby member Councillor Bridget Fortune.
The panel concluded that Cllr Jones had genuinely believed his colleague “was mistakenly voting the wrong way” in a debate over who should become the authority’s first climate change champion.
County Hall erupted in cries of foul play as the council’s opposition members pointed angrily across the council chamber.
Cllr Jones later apologised, saying his colleague had given him “a very very stern rebuke” for his actions.
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It’s not often I feel the need to swear at people, and I probably can’t on here, I’m really close….
An entire generation, you absolute…
What about Lord Robens? Is he great enough for you?
This is the quality of MPs we have now, in the past, even if you vehemently disagreed with an MP’s political views, they were more often than not still people you would be happy to sit and talk to. So many of the modern MPs are absolute amateurs; this is what social media does to people.
Mindless, empty-headed ignorance. All surface and no content.
I’m going to add that ignorance isn’t even an excuse here.
Maybe he knows nothing about the horrific details, but look at the photo; that alone should be more than enough for any decent, semi-intelligent human being to know better.
I’m so sickened by this that I’m not even going to criticise his terrible linguistic ability.
I wish we could just ban people of this type from ever entering the country,
Wow. Just when you think the Tory slime couldn’t sink any lower… what a vile, worthless little man he is.
This is truly very offensive. Where is the awareness with this idiot. 144 people including 116 children died under that coal tip. How can he not understand the gravity of that event and its impact with him making a joke of it. It is beyond belief.
Neither of the recent mainstream parties comes out of the Aberfan Disaster well. Labour made the charity pay for the removal of the tip. OK Blair paid it back but at 1966 prices. The Conservatives mock people who don’t fit their image.