Lancashire Police said they were satisfied no criminal offences had taken place after members of the public complained about a Burnley councillor's social media post following the assassination of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Fiona Wild, who had been sitting as an independent on Burnley Council after resigning from the Labour Party last month, wrote on Facebook that she "doesn't condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this on himself so good riddance to not a very nice man! America needs to get rid of the other t*t now." Burnley Council said Ms Wild has resigned and that complaints under the authority's Code of Conduct for Members will be investigated by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services.
A Lancashire Police spokesman said the force received contacts from members of the public about comments posted on social media by a local councillor, carried out a review and was "content that no criminal offences have taken place." The force did not say whether it had interviewed Ms Wild as part of that review.
Council leader Jamie McGowan, a Conservative, had described the remarks as "vile" and said two small children had woken up "without their daddy" because of his political beliefs. After Ms Wild's resignation he said, "All I can say is, good riddance to a not very nice woman." A Burnley Council spokesman said Ms Wild was serving as an independent councillor at the time of her resignation and was not representing any party group on the authority.
The post followed the fatal shooting this week of Charlie Kirk, 31, who was speaking at Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes across the political spectrum in the United States and the United Kingdom, but also provoked online debate and accusations that some on the Left were using the killing to score political points.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to Kirk on X, saying it was "heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband" and that "there can be no justification for political violence." Turning Point UK, an offshoot of Kirk's American organisation Turning Point USA, issued a statement accusing Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy of "fuelling violent rhetoric" against right-wing figures and said political language used by the Left had contributed to the killing.
The incident has been placed in a broader context of how the U.K. criminal justice system and public authorities respond to offensive or inflammatory online statements. Commentators and politicians have compared the case with that of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months last year after a social-media post that prosecutors said stirred up racial hatred following the Southport murders. Father Ted creator Graham Linehan was arrested after flying into Heathrow in a separate matter relating to posts he had made on X about transgender issues.
Three of the country's most senior police officers have written to the Home Secretary urging changes to laws around online offensive statements, reflecting tensions between freedom of expression and the criminal threshold for hatred and incitement.
Media coverage of Kirk's killing also attracted criticism. Left-wing writer Nels Abbey provoked outrage during a live debate on ITV's Good Morning Britain by comparing Kirk to David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, while a BBC panel appearance by Democratic strategist Joi Chaney – in which she said Kirk "wasn't admired and loved by all" – drew sharply negative reaction on social media.
Brendan Cox, whose wife, Labour MP Jo Cox, was murdered in 2016, condemned what he described as trolling in the wake of Kirk's death and praised senior Democrats for publicly paying tribute. He said Britain had come together after Jo Cox's killing and urged a cooling of political tensions.
Burnley Council said it does not condone the comments and that the Code of Conduct complaints will be investigated. Lancashire Police said the public contacts about the comments were reviewed and that the force was content no criminal offence had been committed. The council's internal review and any findings by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services were not immediately published.
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the subsequent responses from politicians, activists, media figures and local officials underscore continuing debates in the U.K. and U.S. about political rhetoric, the limits of lawful speech online and how public bodies should respond when elected representatives make inflammatory comments. Authorities in both countries face pressure to balance protecting public discourse with enforcing laws against incitement and hatred.
Details of any disciplinary action resulting from the council's code-of-conduct review were not available. Lancashire Police said it would not be providing further comment, and Burnley Council and Ms Wild did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment.