Reform councillor’s wife defends his ‘swastika’ tattoo and says it’s ‘misunderstood’: Theresa Arnold said her husband’s tattoo was ‘misunderstood’ A Reform councillor’s ‘swastika’ tattoo was just a ‘misunderstood Buddhist peace symbol’, his councillor has claimed. Andy Arnold and Theresa Arnold, who is understood to be his wife, were both elected to Barnsley Council earlier this month. It did not take long for eagle-eyed onlookers to spot social media posts which appeared to show an alleged swastika tattoo on Andy’s arm. The tattoo appears on his forearm in photos posted on Theresa Arnold’s Facebook account dating back to 2018. The Sheffield Star reports that multiple pictures of the ‘swastika’ imprint appear on the page of a tattoo business called ‘Taattoo’ in Wombwell, which is registered under Theresa Arnold. Everything is changing, all the time Cut through political noise and understand how the Westminster chaos actually affects your life with Metro’s politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sign up here. Andy can be seen tattooing customers with the symbol visible above another small tattoo. However the ‘swastika’ appears to have been covered up by a larger tattoo, according to more recent photos. According to the Star, Theresa said about the tattoo: ‘The only context I can provide is that, in his late teens, my husband briefly explored Buddhism and had a symbol tattooed on his arm during that period. ‘He has never been involved with, supported, or held views associated with Nazism or any extremist ideology. ‘The tattoo was later covered because the symbol was frequently misunderstood and people incorrectly associated it with something entirely different from its original religious context. ‘Unfortunately, the meaning was often misinterpreted without understanding the background behind it. ‘There is no wider story here beyond a youthful decision connected to a short-lived interest in Buddhism.’ The speculation follows a string of controversies surrounding newly elected Reform councillors. One councillor was suspended after it was discovered he said Nigerians should be melted down to ‘fill in the pot holes. Glenn Gibbins, the new councillor for Hylton Castle Ward in Sunderland, has posted he ‘carnt [sic] believe amount of Nigerians in town’ and they ‘should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes’. Metro also uncovered a string of inflammatory comments on the suspended X account of Makerfield by-election candidate Robert F Kenyon. His provocative posts included writing about Asian men ‘assaulting white people en masse’ and ‘an invasion of foreign criminals’. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source #TattooControversy #Swastika #Buddhism #CouncillorNews #SocialMedia