Labour councillor suspended over 'Hitler had right idea' Facebook comment about travellers
2 min read
A Labour councillor has been suspended from the party pending an investigation into a Facebook post which said that "Hitler had the right idea” about travellers.
The post from Denbighshire councillor Bob Murray's account has been widely condemned, with one colleague branding the comment “vile”.
The message, which was widely circulated on Twitter and has since been deleted, read: "Hitler had the right idea, anyone hot [sic] any canisters?"
Mr Murray told BBC Wales that he had no comment to make.
The message had been posted on a Facebook thread started by fellow Prestatyn councillor, Paul Penlington, about a group of travellers.
He told the broadcaster's Local Democracy Service: "I put a post on Facebook, informing residents of Denbighshire council's sensible response to a small group of travellers in my ward.
"I only stated the facts to avoid any misinterpretation as this can be a contentious subject for many people.
"On Thursday, later in the evening, a post appeared on the thread making a vile, racist statement.
"The post was in the name of another councillor fortunately I saw it within five minutes of it being posted and I deleted it very quickly.
"I am absolutely nauseated by the post and quite upset really that my good name has been drawn into this".
Mr Pennington added that he had immediately passed it on to the Labour group leader and Denbighshire Council's head of legal services.
The local authority said it had referred the matter to the Public Service Ombudsman.
A Labour Party spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “The Labour Party takes complaints about discriminatory and threatening language extremely seriously, which are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken. We can’t comment on individual cases.”
A spokesperson from the Board of Deputies of British Jews said of the comments: "It is beyond disgraceful that anyone would make this kind of genocide-supporting comment, much less an elected councillor.
"With this disgusting comment about Travellers, one of the most marginalised communities in Europe, Bob Murray is not fit for public office and should be summarily expelled from the Labour Party."
Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock, added: “These are vile and offensive remarks, directed at a minority group. They are not befitting of anyone, especially someone in public office.”
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