Council investigating 'racist' comments made by councillor following King's Coronation

A council is investigating “racist” comments made by a county councillor on social media, as colleagues call for his immediate resignation. 

Spennymoor councillor Pete Molloy has come under fire for a post on social media, where he bemoaned “non-indigenous” British people for voicing their opinions in the mainstream media. 

Mr Molloy’s comments were in response to a news story headlined: ‘Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh stuns ITV presenters by calling the Buckingham Palace balcony “terribly white” during live Coronation coverage’. 

“I don’t care if this post offends anyone, because enough is enough now and it’s about time more and more people grew a pair and speak their minds and stopped being the silent majority and become the vocal majority!” Mr Molloy said. 

“Another non-indigenous British person with not just a chip, but a whole sack of King Eddie potatoes on their shoulder.”

Mr Molloy, who is a member of Spennymoor and Tudhoe Independent Group, said it is the duty of non-indigenous British people to “assimilate, as best as possible, into the culture and society of the indigenous British people”. 

He added: “I don’t care if you are either an indigenous or non-indigenous British person, so if you dislike or hate the history, heritage, culture, religion, governance etc. of Great Britain, please feel free to make your way to any of the many air or sea ports and leave, because you don’t have to live here!”

However, the comments have "shocked" members across the council chamber however, with Labour leader Carl Marshall calling for Councillor Molloy’s immediate resignation.

“These comments are racist, misogynistic, divisive and not beholden to a member holding elected office at Durham County Council,” he said. 

“I pride myself in living and representing residents in a county and country that is multicultural, diverse and welcoming to all. These comments fly in the face of the area we all represent and I will be calling on the councillor to resign from office immediately.

“Coming off the back of a fantastic weekend where all of our communities came together to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, where the events held across the country celebrated the huge diversity that proudly makes up our modern society. These comments are shocking.”

A spokesman for Durham County Council said: “We have received a complaint and it is being considered by the Monitoring Officer in accordance with our established procedures.”

Mr Molloy stood by his comments when contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said: “I am unaware of any political organisation asking for my resignation, and if they are, they are not going to get it over a social media post that I made on my personal profile and not in my capacity as a county or town councillor using my councillor profile page.

“I hope that these same political organisations are equally calling for the resignation of Ms Andoh from what employment she is in for her allegedly racist remark towards the Royal Family for calling them ‘terribly white’ or are their protests only reserved for white folks?”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...