A STROUD councillor has apologised for sharing a “deeply hurtful and inaccurate” tweet about refugees, which has since been deleted, writes Leigh Boobyer.

Stroud District Councillor Debbie Young (C, Chalford) retweeted a post on Twitter earlier this month which said: “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?”.

The Conservative councillor was reported to the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat coalition-run authority, and has deleted her retweet and apologised to the district council’s monitoring officer.

BBC LDRS approached Ms Young for comment but was directed to Stroud District Council’s Conservative leader councillor Stephen Davies who said the tweet was “factually inaccurate, but not racist or illegal”.

A joint statement by the authority’s Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat groups said: “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.”

Mr Davies (C, Severn) said in a statement: “Councillor Young has withdrawn the tweet and has apologised for the tweet to the Monitoring Officer at Stroud District Council.

“The incident is subject to a complaint and therefore I would like to make no further comment until a ruling is made.

“I have also spoken to Stroud Against Racism and believe the original tweet is factually incorrect, but not racist or illegal.”

Stroud District Council said it “expects the highest standards of conduct at all times”.

A council spokesman 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.”