Sam Journet - Councillor for St Martin's | Reform Watch
Profile and accountability tracker for Sam Journet, Councillor for St Martin's. Reform UK.
Role: Councillor for St Martin's
Party: Reform UK
Recorded incidents (showing 1-8 of 8)
Sam Journet had a company struck off and another fail to file accounts
Category: financial conduct concern
Sam Journet had one of his companies dissolved via compulsory strike-off by Companies House after it failed to file a required confirmation statement, and another company he owns has not filed any accounts since it was set up more than six years ago. He recorded the struck-off firm as trading for profit on a fresh register of interests and his council registers contain inconsistent declarations of shareholdings and late updates. A county court judgment for £2,587 was entered against him and was recorded as unsatisfied, and his social media activity includes paid adverts and unproven allegations against political opponents. The discrepancies matter because failing to file required company documents is a criminal offence and councillors are legally required to keep registers of interests up to date; Companies House strike-off is an administrative consequence of overdue filings. Opponents have demanded he be suspended from office and criticised his conduct, and a local Labour councillor has called for rules on councillors monetising social media; Meta said it does not allow current elected officials or political candidates to earn money from content but would not comment on the status of individual accounts.
Police contradicted his claims about town centre safety as he promoted private security patrols
Category: xenophobia
Location: Essex
On 28 August 2026, Sam Journet, Essex County Council's Cabinet Member for Education, SEND and Skills and Mayor of Basildon, announced on X that Reform UK Essex had launched "Operation Vanguard", placing private security personnel on the streets of Colchester, Chelmsford and Braintree in response to asylum seekers accommodated at the former RAF Wethersfield base. Byline Times reported on 2 September 2026 that Essex Police appeared to contradict the suggestion that those towns were unsafe, saying Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford "are safe" and that crime was down. The £150,000 patrol scheme was criticised as linking asylum seekers to crime without supporting evidence. The graphic Journet shared promoting the scheme appeared to be AI-generated.
Police admitted error after his phone was handed to a Reform ally during his arrest
Category: scandal
Location: Basildon
Byline Times reported on 24 June 2026 that Essex Police had privately accepted it made an error by failing to seize Sam Journet's phone and other devices when he was arrested at Basildon Council offices in September 2025 on suspicion of stalking, harassment and assault. He was not charged and faced no further action. During the arrest, Journet handed his mobile phone to fellow Reform councillor Zoe Hockton, chair of Basildon Reform, and it was not retrieved during the investigation. Essex Police were reported to be investigating a formal complaint about the handling of the case, made by Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan. Journet and Hockton were contacted for comment and did not respond. No finding of wrongdoing has been made against Journet in relation to the original allegations.
Reversed his stated position on local government reorganisation after the May 2026 elections
Category: factual inaccuracy
Location: Essex
In March 2026, Sam Journet told a council meeting: "If Cllr Emma Callaghan thinks Reform UK is going to curtail LGR, here is some breaking news for her and the rest of the chamber. Reform UK will deliver LGR in line with statutory requirements." After being elected to Essex County Council in May 2026, where Reform took control and announced a legal challenge to local government reorganisation, he described the process on Facebook as "costly madness". Reporting in May 2026 set the two positions against each other. Journet said his position had changed "because the facts have changed", citing the Government's imposition of a five-unitary model for Essex and costs he put at more than £100m.
Formal complaints over filming council staff and residents with camera-enabled glasses
Category: intimidation bullying
Location: Basildon
Byline Times reported on 30 April 2026 that Sam Journet had faced a series of formal complaints after regularly wearing Meta-style camera glasses during council meetings and while doorknocking residents in Basildon. Multiple local sources described the practice as intimidating. Complaints from staff and fellow councillors about filming officials without their consent, and about accessing staff-only areas without permission, preceded Basildon Council reinstating restrictions on councillors' access to staff-only parts of the Basildon Centre. Journet has said the glasses are both prescription and worn "for protection".
Former Reform colleague alleged months of bullying and a slur about her dyslexia
Category: intimidation bullying
Location: Basildon
In April 2026, then-Reform councillor Sarah Shields said Sam Journet had been responsible for "bullying" her over a "period of months". She alleged that he referred to her as "thick" because she is dyslexic. Shields subsequently left the Reform group on Basildon Borough Council and sat as an independent. The allegations are Shields's account and have not been tested by a formal finding. Journet has not accepted them.
Arrested at Basildon Council offices on suspicion of stalking and harassment; no further action taken
Category: intimidation bullying
Location: Basildon Council offices, Basildon, Essex
Sam Journet, a Reform UK councillor in Basildon, was arrested inside Basildon Council offices on 2025-09-08. Essex Police said the arrest was on suspicion of stalking and harassment and a public order offence, and that the investigation "relates to allegations of a man aged in his 30s being harassed online and in person." Basildon Council said it had introduced restrictions limiting access to staff-only areas after concerns about inappropriate conduct, and that despite those restrictions "one Councillor repeatedly disregarded the rules" and "was arrested and removed from the premises by police." The council said the action followed "repeated public disorder in the council offices, harassment of staff and councillors and trespassing into areas of the council they are not permitted to be in." Journet has frequently clashed verbally with members of the ruling Labour group, including leader Gavin Callaghan. Essex Police confirmed in November 2025 that the case would be taken no further "due to evidential difficulties" and that it was closed. Journet was not charged, denies wrongdoing, and has said he was cleared and has demanded an apology from Basildon Labour and the council leader.
Asked to apologise after posting footage of a disabled young man in Basildon town centre
Category: inappropriate behaviour
Location: Basildon
Sam Journet, Reform UK's group leader in Basildon, posted footage on social media of a young man with disabilities in Basildon town centre in what Byline Times reported was an alleged attempt to shame him. Following the episode, Journet was asked to apologise and to undergo council training. Reporting in April 2026 said he did not appear to have apologised, had not undertaken the training, and that the footage remained online.