A Kirklees Conservative councillor has been criticised after his Twitter account was used to ‘like’ Islamophobic material.
Clr Michael Watson’s account was repeatedly used to highlight posts by anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson.
And it comes shortly after Kirkburton Parish Council Tory Clr Ray Bray was suspended after his account was used to post race-hate material.
The Denby Dale Tory's social media account has liked the controversial former English Defence League founder’s posts nine times in the past month alone.
The Twitter account of Clr Watson, a partner at Leeds based law firm Shulmans, was also used to like a number of anti-transgender and anti-asylum posts.
Speaking to the Examiner, Clr Watson said he liked a lot of different content on Twitter.
Asked if his likes were endorsements, he said: “Not really”.
He added: “I do a lot of liking of things I see around Twitter. Not all are my views.
“Some are amusing, some ironic.
“If people want to look through everything that I like that’s up to them.”
Clr Watson’s Twitter profile shows that on March 26, the account liked Tommy Robinson’s post that said: “The future of our culture and identity depends on those brave enough to be called racist, bigot, Islamophobe and not flinch or back down.”
On April 16 the profile liked Robinson’s post that said: “If you think Islam is a religion of peace, criticise it (respectfully) in an Islamic country and see the reaction.”
Another on April 20 said: “Who remembers when Paris was known as the city of love & romance. Now it’s simply known as the city of terror & war thanks to Islam.”
Other controversial posts Clr Watson’s account has liked include a meme of women dressed in Nazi uniform which claims this is “what men actually look for”, and he has twice liked posts which say transgender people have “mental disorders” or “mental illness”.
During an unpopular speech about problems with health tourism in the council chamber on January 18 this year, Clr Watson was accused of “shameful racism” by a heckler in the town hall.
Later that evening his Twitter account re-tweeted a post by outspoken celebrity, Katie Hopkins, which claimed the word racist “had lost all meaning...”.
Another of the likes included a post which said: “Being called a racist nowadays is a badge of honour to me. It means ‘patriot’.”
The detail of the tweets comes just days after Kirkburton parish councillor Clr Ray Bray was suspended after his account was used to post race-hate material. Clr Bray’s account later posted a message saying it had been hacked.
Labour’s Dewsbury prospective parliamentary candidate, Paula Sherriff, said: “This shows a pattern of behaviour in the local Tory party.
“First councillor Ray Bray’s account was exposed after tweeting Islamophobic and deeply offensive comments and now this comes to light too.
“How many more Tories across Dewsbury hold these views?”
