July 26, 2019 3.40 pm This story is over 66 months old

Tory councillor suspended over Corbyn tweet

He has since deleted the tweet
Councillor Patterson has been suspended from the Conservative party.

A Conservative Lincolnshire councillor has been suspended after tweeting that Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, “should be swinging from the gallows like Saddam Hussein”.

Councillor Roger Patterson, who is President of the Gainsborough Conservatives and sits on West Lindsey District Council for Scampton ward, sent out the now deleted tweet which said Mr Corbyn “betrayed his country”.

He apologised for the tweet and said it had been “stupid” and “misinterpreted”.

The council has distanced itself from Councillor Patterson saying: “We are aware of the comments and they are not the view of the council.

“We are not in a position to discuss the conduct of individual councillors. However, we understand that Cllr Patterson has apologised for his tweet.”

In his apology, Councillor Patterson said: “I would never suggest or condone using violence against anyone and it certainly was not my intention to indict anything,” he said.

“I sincerely apologise to Jeremy Corbyn and anyone else offended.”

The Gainsborough Conservative website described Councillor Patterson as a “champion of democracy”.

He currently sits on West Lindsey councils planning committee and was first elected to the authority in 2011.

The Conservative party Code of Conduct includes calling on its members to “encourage and foster respect and tolerance”and to “not use their position to bully, abuse, victimise, harass or unlawfully discriminate against others”.

If a member is found to have broken the code, a number of sanctions can be carried out, including expulsion from the party membership and calls for members to be removed from certain committees.

The tweet has come under fire from Lincoln MP Karen Lee who called him a “particularly nasty councillor” who had been offensive about her in the past.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones has called Councillor Patterson’s apology “the right thing to do”.

Lincolnshire Police have also confirmed they are “looking into” the tweets after a report from a member of the public.

Councillor Patterson has been contacted for comment.

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