Hearings are set to take place against a councillor over claims their social media posts sparked a ‘death threat’ and bullying.
The complaints stem from posts by South Kesteven District Council Councillor Tim Harrison (Ind), including one that led to police dealing with a death threat and incitement to violence.
The post, shared from the ‘Lincolnshire Against the Cull’ Facebook page, criticised Coun Ben Green (Con) over badger culling.
Investigations into Councillor Tim Harrison’s social media posts will go before a South Kesteven District Council panel next Tuesday.
It included a photo of Coun Green with a caption suggesting that all badgers in his ward would be killed, prompting a comment from a member of the public who said: “What is the chance of culling this waste of space? I’m sure nobody would notice him missing from his ward.”
Coun Green, along with Councillor Graham Jeal (Con) and Coun Sue Woolley (Con), reported the comment as a ‘death threat,’ prompting police involvement and a fine being issued.
The March parish council meeting at South Witham was cancelled and the March parish council meeting at Great Ponton was postponed.
Councillor Tim Harrison is being investigated over social media posts.
Security was also hired at South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) meetings as a precaution.
The complaint was escalated to a formal investigation, which examined whether the post breached the council’s Code of Conduct.
In response, Coun Harrison denied any wrongdoing, claiming the post aimed to raise awareness about the badger culling issue and was not intended to incite violence.
Councillor Ben Green. Photo: SKDC
He argued that the comment in question was simply an expression of frustration, not a death threat.
He said: “It was a flippant comment, maybe in bad taste… Was it offensive? Was it a death threat? No… They went totally overboard on this.”
He also criticised police for the time it had taken to respond to the Facebook comment compared to a burglary that he was a victim of, saying: “The irony is, for a burglary – somebody can’t come out for six weeks, but a hurtful Facebook post – they’re out within three hours.”
Coun Harrison denied responsibility for the comment and refused to delete it when asked by police.
The investigation by Wilkin Chapman LLP found that Coun Harrison’s posts could have breached the Code of Conduct on respect, bullying, and disrepute.
The solicitors, in particular, noted that his failure to remove the post comment exacerbated the situation, with concerns about potential reputational damage for the council.
Additionally, Coun Harrison faces another investigation into a separate post where he said, “what a clown world,” in criticism of a column by Coun Graham Jeal (Con) on bin collection issues, adding further that the column was “beyond that of a clown”.
Coun Harrison has denied calling Coun Jeal a “clown” personally, instead claiming the remark was directed at Coun Jeal’s article rather than his character.
“It’s not my problem how people interpret what I put, I’m very careful about what I type and how I type it.
“Specifically, that comment is worse than that of a clown. That is not saying he’s a clown, it’s saying his comment was worse than that of a clown in the fact that he is saying he has never seen people in this town as unhappy as when they didn’t get their bin collected in one week.”
The solicitor’s judgment found the comments breached the respect clause only through the use of the “clown” phrases.
They added that the rest of the comment was “justifiable political comment,” which was “highlighting other very real difficulties of people in parts of the district”.
A panel of councillors will meet at 10am and 2pm on Tuesday (January 21) to consider the findings and decide on any sanctions.