A Harrogate district parish councillor has defended his comments online where he called for a “White Lives Matter” protest.
Cllr Ernest Butler also suggested that people moving to the UK are “taking over” on his Facebook page.
The councillor said people migrating to the country are deleting its history, telling people how to live, what jobs they take and what religions to preach.
His comments sparked much controversy with anti-racism campaigners who took them to his employers.
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Harrogate Borough Council has received several complaints but said that its code of conduct does not apply when councillors use social media in a personal capacity.
But the council’s code of conduct seems to directly contradict that stance:
“When a person has been elected as a Councillor they are never a member of the general public in relation to any matter before the Council. Although this means they lose certain privileges available to the general public that is the consequence of holding public office.”
Darley Parish Council’s clerk said he had no remit to deal with complaints but added that he was aware of the comments.
When The Stray Ferret approached Cllr Ernest Butler he was not apologetic about his comments and said he had not done anything wrong.
“I am not a racist person. What I said online is true, there are just people out there that disagree with me and want to bring me down. I just stick my head above the parapet and say what other people can’t. It’s not racist to say people from European countries are taking jobs here and driving down the wages.”
He added that he has been suspended from his job at Nidd Hall and that he is now facing an employment tribunal over his comments.
