Labour councillor sorry for ‘dirty Argies’ tweet

A LABOUR councillor has apologised after referring to “dirty Argies” and then blaming the phrase on his “Falkland Islander mother”.

Mike Lilley was investigated by Colchester Borough Council after using the phrase in critical tweets about the high cost of flights to the Falkland Islands.

Mr Lilley wrote on Twitter in July: “You have to fly to Ascension Island as the dirty argies have an air ban [sic]. It’s about 6k for the flight as well.” The councillor, who is responsible for public safety in the borough, has since deleted his Twitter account.

Conservative councillor Beverly Davies lodged a formal complaint over the comments. She said that although she felt he was a “good councillor” and a “decent person”, the fact that the tweet was written at all “demonstrates a deep-seated prejudice”, the BBC reported.

The council will rule on the matter on Sept 19.