Royal Mail suspend Invergowrie community leader over ‘slurs’

The Royal Mail has suspended an Invergowrie community leader who allegedly used racial slurs online.

Jamie Brown, chairman of Invergowrie and Kingoodie Community Council, works for the postal service locally.

The Royal Mail confirmed it has launched a probe following reports Mr Brown is a supporter of far-right groups and had used racist language in online chats.

A spokesman said: “We have been made aware of the reporting and are currently carrying out our own investigation.

“It would not be appropriate to comment on the details of any individual case, however we do suspend employees when serious allegations are made in order to protect colleagues and customers.”

Mr Brown has been approached for comment.

Anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate this week revealed his links to the white-nationalist group Patriotic Alternative.

In January 2022, during an online podcast speaking under the pseudonym “Mean Peem”, Mr Brown detailed his support for the group and his experience growing up in Dundee.

In a statement to The Courier, the community council leader said he had since moved on from Patriotic Alternative, saying the group were not interested in “serious politics”.

He is now a member of the Homeland Party, a group founded by former British National Party activist Kenny Smith.

Screenshots from different platforms show a user positing under Mr Brown’s name using racial slurs.

In one post in December 2020, Hope Not Hate say Mr Brown branded Russian author Ayn Rand “k*ke scum”.

Responding to the claims made against him, Mr Brown denied using the language and attacked Hope Not Hate’s motives.

Extremism review announced in Commons

The Royal Mail probe comes as Communities Secretary Michael Gove confimed Patriotic Alternative would be included in the groups the government will assess under its new extremism definition.

In the Commons, Mr Gove used parliamentary privilege to tell MPs he had concerns Patriotic Alternative and other far-right group promote a “neo-Nazi ideology”.

Describing the activities of extreme right-wing groups as a “growing worry”, he said: “I’m sure that we would agree that organisations such as the British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative – who promote neo-Nazi ideology, argue for forced repatriation, a white ethno-state and the targeting of minority groups for intimidation – are precisely the type of groups about which we should be concerned and whose activities we will assess against the new definition.”