A CONSERVATIVE councillor who was accused, and cleared, of sharing racist tweets has been reported over a further offensive post.

Claims that Chalford councillor Debbie Young had shared racist tweets were found not to have breached Stroud District Council's code of conduct back in June 2020.

But now Cllr Young has been reported again to SDC's monitoring officer over an offensive tweet posted on February 9.

The complaint relates to a re-tweet by Cllr Young, which has now been deleted, but not before it was seen by local residents, who contacted SDC with their concerns.

Cllr Young had retweeted a tweet from Hidinginplains8, which stated: "How did we get to a 10 year prison sentence for entering by plane but free accommodation, food, tv and an iPhone for entering by dinghy?"

Now Stroud District Council leaders of the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat groups have condemned the tweet and have submitted a formal letter of complaint to SDC’s monitoring officer.

They have also asked SDC's Conservative leader Stephen Davies to join them in publicly condemning the racist use of social media by councillors.

The letter, signed by Doina Cornell, Martin Whiteside and Ken Tucker, states: "We are submitting a formal complaint regarding a breach of Stroud District Council’s Member Code of Conduct by Cllr Debbie Young.

"The complaint relates to the following re-tweet by Cllr Young, which has now been deleted, but not before it was seen by local residents, who contacted us immediately with their concerns.

"An elected representative using social media in this way is simply unacceptable.

"Stroud district has a long tradition of welcoming refugees from many countries, and condemning hatred and discrimination of all kinds.

"The tweet spreads anti-refugee prejudice and as a result could ferment discrimination and hatred.

"As Stroud district residents we are fortunate to live in relative safety, in contrast to those who due to circumstances beyond their control have had to flee their homeland and endure hardships and risks to reach safety.

"They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, not used as the butt of a deeply hurtful and inaccurate tweet."

The Stroud District Council member code of conduct states that 'members should promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.'

In their letter, Cllrs Cornell, Whiteside and Tucker said: "The code of conduct has clearly been breached on this occasion.

"We look forward to your urgent investigation into this matter so we can respond to local residents that their district council is standing up for what is right."

Cllr Stephen Davies said: "This is now subject to a complaint so it would be inappropriate for me to comment in detail.

"I have asked Cllr Young to withdraw the tweet which she has done, and I can confirm that Cllr Young will not be seeking re-election in the Local Elections currently scheduled for May.

"I would add however that I don't believe the tweet is either racist or illegal but the Complaints process will rule on this."

A Stroud District Council spokesperson said: “Stroud District Council condemns all forms of discrimination and expects the highest standards of conduct at all times. All complaints are thoroughly investigated in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct.”