A GREEN Party councillor has apologised for remarks made on social media regarding another elected councillor.
A social media comment made by the Green Party councillor for Bold and Lea Green, Glen Richards, was flagged to the council's monitoring officer, who deals with complaints regarding the code of conduct of councillor.
The comment, made on May 1, was on a Facebook post from Independent councillor Karl Collier, discussing a Thomas the Tank Engine mural on Vista Road in Newton-le-Willows.
Responding to a comment made by Green Party colleague Paul Hooton, Cllr Richards referred to the Newton-le-Willows West councillor, Seve Gomez-Aspron, as "gormless".
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The comment was made following the completion of a Thomas the Tank Engine mural (Image: Cllr Gomez-Aspron)
After the complaint was lodged with the council's monitoring officer, Cllr Richard's accepted that the comment was "ill advised" and sent a letter of apology to the council's deputy leader.
His response, which has been shared with the Star, reads: "The Council’s Monitoring Officer has brought to my attention a complaint brought by you under the Members’ Code of Conduct concerning a comment I made on a Facebook post.
"The comment in question was a reply I made on 1 May 2024 to a comment from Paul Hooton on Councillor Collier’s Facebook page.
"I apologise for any offence I may have caused you. I confirm that I have removed my comment from the post.”
Cllr Richards also removed the comment and the matter is considered to have been resolved without the need for a full scale investigation.
Cllr Richards apologised for his remarks (Image: St Helens Council)
The apology comes a few weeks after Cllr Gomez-Aspron apologised to Newton-le-Willows East councillor, Terry Maguire, for comments made during a council meeting.
While the council recognises that social media plays a crucial role in councillors engaging with constituents, guidance on its use has been updated this week.
The guidance, which came before the council's standards committee on Monday, July 8, has been updated to ensure the guidance is "fit for purpose" and advises councillors against breaching the council's code of conduct.
A St Helens Green Party spokesperson said: “Cllr Richards has apologised for his comment and we consider the matter closed.”
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