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09
Jul 2020
Councillor's 'white lives matter' comments 'deplorable', says council leader
The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has described comments made by a parish councillor for a “white lives matter” protest as deplorable and shocking.
More than two weeks ago, Cllr Ernest Butler, who sits on Darley and Menwith Parish Council, posted comments on his Facebook page suggesting that people moving to the UK were “taking over”.
The borough council received complaints about the remarks, but pointed out that its code of conduct does not extend to social media comments made by councillors.
Cllr Matthew Webber, Liberal Democrat councillor, asked council leader Richard Cooper at a meeting of the authority’s full council last night about the council’s position on the matter.
Read more:
- See what happened at the second Black Lives Matter protest in Harrogate
- Harrogate parish councillor defends ‘White Lives Matter’ comments
- Why Yorkshire Tea went viral with its Black Lives Matter tweet
Cllr Cooper said:
It comes as Cllr Butler’s comments sparked controversy with anti-racism campaigners who took complaints to his employers.
When The Stray Ferret approached Cllr Ernest Butler he was not apologetic about his comments and said he had not done anything wrong.
He said:
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