Tax-hiking council paid comedian £500,000 to run its Facebook page

AN ‘ANTI-TORY’ comedian was paid £500,000 by a cash-strapped Conservative council to ‘engage’ with the public online during the pandemic.

Simon Harris was handed the huge sum to run a Facebook page that dealt with critical issues affecting local people on behalf of Essex County Council.

In 2021 alone, the internet prankster received £117,000-£279,000 more than the prime minister’s salary at the time.

Details emerged yesterday, two days after the local authority announced it was raising council tax by 4.99 per cent to ‘develop essential services’ at a time that it is struggling with ‘financial pressures’.

It is also ‘reluctantly’ making £32million of cuts to services to help pay for a ‘spike in the requirements for children’s services’. Tory Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson, who has often been the subject of Mr Harris’s jibes on social media, turned the tables on the comedian.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said: ‘Is this the same Simon Harris who has been trolling me on social media for the past year? Sending my best wishes to Simon at this difficult time.’ Joe Ventre from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: ‘Wasting taxpayers’ money like this is no laughing matter. While residents paid the price of the pandemic, the last thing they expected their hard-earned cash to be spent on is lining the pockets of a comedian.’

Essex taxpayers voiced their anger on Facebook about the six-figure pay day for the entertainer, who appears to have deleted his social media accounts.

One wrote: ‘Half a million! What a disgusting waste of our council tax, should be made to pay it back.’

■ Middlesbrough has become the latest council set to ask the Government for emergency help to avoid going bankrupt.

If enough cash isn’t provided, the council could become the tenth local authority since 2018 to issue a Section 114 notice – meaning it is unable to balance the books.

Birmingham, Woking and Nottingham councils all also issued notices last year.