Devon councillor reported over ‘willy-spotting’ remarks in child safeguarding row

A Devon councillor has been reported to his NHS employer after suggesting fellow councillors wanted an event at a local library policed by “crack willy-spotting experts”.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Graham Bell, a registered nurse, made the remarks in an email exchange between county councillors about a forthcoming Young Persons Day at Exeter Library.

The exchange followed controversy over last October’s ‘Queer Fest’ event, where a plastic model of a penis, condoms and a condom-fitting device were displayed at a sexual-health stall while young children were present.

Another stall offered sweets and lollipops in exchange for children’s contact details via a QR code.

Addressing colleagues who called for further safeguarding checks ahead of the forthcoming event, Bell wrote: “You seem to wish that future events should be policed by a team of crack willy-spotting experts.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr Bell added that there did not appear to be enough local interest to form a “puritanical A-Team” – a reference to the popular 1980s US television series about four former Special Forces soldiers on the run from the military.

Bell went on to suggest that campaigner Graeme Thomson, who had circulated the original complaint, could be “Hannibal” to Reform UK group leader Cllr Michael Fife Cook’s “Mr T”- two of the programme’s best-known figures.

Independent Cllr Ed Hill said he had complained about Bell’s remarks to Devon County Council and the NHS trust understood to employ him as an intensive-care nurse.

In his complaint to the trust, Hill wrote: “Mr Bell was entitled to disagree with those concerns.

“However, instead of simply challenging the evidence or explaining why he believed the concerns were unfounded, he chose to respond using mocking and sexualised language.”

Hill asked the trust to consider whether the remarks were compatible with the judgement and professionalism expected of somebody working with vulnerable patients.

Cllr Bell has previously been dismissive of child safeguarding concerns raised by councillors – and members of the public – in relation to “queer” and gender ideology.

In an email circulated to councillors in March 2026, he appeared to suggest that he did not identify according to his birth sex.

He wrote: “Personally, as a ‘Male’ nurse, I prefer not to identify by my birth-gender for personal reasons.”

The clash is the latest development in a long-running and bitter dispute over events for LGBT young people at Exeter Library.

Libraries Unlimited, the charity which runs Devon’s libraries, said the items displayed last year were standard educational materials and found that no safeguarding breach had occurred.

However, Liberal Democrat Devon County Council leader Julian Brazil later acknowledged that what happened “wasn’t as we would have hoped” and said “lessons have been learned”.

Both Fife Cook and Hill raised safeguarding concerns about last year’s Queer Fest and have faced pushback over the dispute. Fife Cook was ordered to apologise to colleagues and undertake “conduct training” after raising concerns about the “sexualisation of children” in relation to the event.

Hill’s motion calling for an independent review of safeguarding policies at the council and public service providers operating on its behalf was defeated in May, six months after it was first proposed.

Jenny Dingsdale, a local mum and member of the campaigning group Reality Not Labels has followed the story closely. She told [Un]Captured: “This email exchange is unfortunately a perfect example of the ideological capture at Devon Council, where safeguarding concerns are laughed off, ignored, dismissed as ‘puritanical’ or even punished. Their belief in misinformation from the trans lobby appears to have blinded them to the harm being done to children in the name of gender. It’s way past time they started taking safeguarding seriously.

The latest row blew up after local campaigner Graeme Thompson sent councillors a strongly worded email objecting to a forthcoming event for young people aged 13 to 19. 

Thompson’s email was headed “Exeter Library Queering Children Again”. He claimed there was “compelling evidence” that “Q for Queer in LGBTQ is pro-paedophile”.

Hill, using “Mr T” as shorthand for Thompson, wrote: “Despite Mr T’s language, we should not dismiss the underlying complaint simply because we disagree with the way that he has presented the argument.” Fife Cook similarly argued that legitimate questions should not be ignored, while warning against unsupported accusations.

Before making his “willy spotting” remarks, Bell warned that circulating the email more widely could amount to spreading “illegal hate speech”.

Hill later told him: “References to ‘crack willy-spotting experts’ and making A-Team jokes do not contribute anything useful to a discussion about safeguarding children.

“Some people here, myself included, have real-life experience of child abuse, and it is not a laughing matter.”

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged receipt of Hill’s complaint and said it would be handled in line with its complaints process.

A Devon County Council spokesperson confirmed that Bell is a member of the council’s Children’s Scrutiny Committee and that a complaint had been received about his language.

The spokesperson said: “This complaint, as with all councillor complaints, will be looked into in line with the council’s agreed processes.”

The council added that Libraries Unlimited had introduced several changes for this year’s event. These include placing it in a clearly defined area away from the children’s library, which visitors must actively choose to enter, and checking all stalls and workshop materials before it opens.

Cllr Bell was approached for comment.