The Daily Telegraph

Criticism of council sparks a police visit

- By Victoria Ward

A FORMER councillor who used social media to criticise local government spending was visited at home by police officers, it has emerged.

Tony Boxford, 61, has accused Suffolk Police of wasting valuable time and resources. “It’s ridiculous,” he said. “They don’t have the resources to deal with traffic issues or parking problems, yet they have time to come and knock on people’s doors on behalf of the council.”

It has also been claimed that a second man received a similar visit from the police after making critical comments online about Hadleigh town council’s clerk on social media and at a private Christmas party.

Mr Boxford, a trainee driving instructor, questioned whether Hadleigh town council was acting in constituen­ts’ best interests and criticised the actions of its clerk in a blog post.

Earlier, on Facebook, he had criticised the town’s former mayor and attacked the council for allegedly spending taxpayers’ money on maintenanc­e for Hadleigh’s medieval town hall and Guildhall, rather than for the benefit of local people.

But he insisted nothing he had said amounted to harassment or defamation and threatened to take legal action if the council continue to pursue him over his comments.

“I will not have my democratic right to hold my elected officials to account shut down,” he said.

“I’m simply expressing my personal opinion about things in the public domain.”

Mr Boxford said police could not tell him specifical­ly what he had said or written to warrant the visit. He was elected to Hadleigh town council as a

‘ I will not have my democratic right to hold my elected officials to account shut down’

Labour candidate in May 2015 but resigned four months later, citing disputes with other members.

A spokesman for Suffolk Police said: “Concerns were raised with police that some comments had been made regarding a member of the town council which they believed to be derogatory.

“Two individual­s have subsequent­ly been spoken to by officers and offered words of advice regarding these comments and, in particular, the appropriat­e use of social media.”

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