Tories reinstate whip after council investigation
ASOLIHULL councillor who was suspended by the local Conservative party pending an investigation into alleged racist tweets did not breach the council’s Code of Conduct, a report has found.
Councillor Margaret Bassett was accused of re-posting ‘racist’ tweets – including one from former EDL leader Tommy Robinson and another critical of child refugees coming into Britain.
But Cllr Bassett, a Conservative, defended the tweets, saying she wanted “to stimulate debate”.
“Some of these issues are so awful that people ought to know that these issues are being discussed,” she said.
“I do think it’s a political witch-hunt. I am not antiMuslim, anti-Jewish or anyone else.”
Monitoring officer Deborah Merry, the council’s Head of Legal and Democratic Services, concluded: “I have noted that the re-tweeted words were not Margaret Bassett’s own words in the tweets, she did not endorse the content of the re-tweets and that they were political rather than personal expressions.
“There was no evidence that the retweets contained overtly racist or Islamaphobic words, nor were they comments directed by MB [Margaret Bassett] to one person or a group of people.
“The Code of Conduct for Councillors sets the standards to which Councillors must adhere. However, it is not intended to interfere with robust political debate. In reaching my decision I have to consider the applicability of the relevant legislation including the Human Rights Act 1998.”‘
Miss Bassett, who represents Silhill ward, has now had the party whip reinstated which means she can vote at council meetings. But fellow councillor Jeff Potts who represents Knowle, remains suspended by his own Conservative group after he tweeted similar comments in October.
Mr Potts asked is “anybody surprised?” while retweeting negative stories about immigrants on Twitter.
He can still attend meetings but as an independent.
He is currently under investigation by West Midlands Police after allegedly retweeting offensive and inflammatory anti-Muslim posts.
English Defence League took to Twitter on learning Miss Bassett had not breached the Code of Conduct. It posted: “Solihull thought police contrive a new vendetta. “This one against Councillor Margaret Bassett who dared to share a Tweet.”
Re-tweets on her Twitter account had included the comment: “Why should thousands of lives be unnecessarily put at risk for the sake of importing ‘refugees’ from a safe country?”
A further tweet by English Defence League former leader Tommy Robinson showed a picture of London mayor Sadiq Khan, and stated: “Defiant London Mayor proclaims we will not be defeated! World starts to wonder – who does he mean by we?”
Miss Merry added: “I do not consider that a reasonable person, in possession of all the facts would consider that the re-tweets were so offensive and disrespectful to an individual or were an unjustified personal and generic attack on a section of the public such that MB has breached the Code of Conduct for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
“My decision therefore is that no further action will be taken in relation to these complaints.”
I do think it’s a political witch-hunt. I am not anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish or anyone else Councillor Margaret Bassett, right