Solihull councillor suspended by local Conservatives after series of Islamophobic retweets

The Birmingham Mail reports that a local councillor in Solihull has been suspended from the Conservative Party after retweeting a series of Islamophobic and xenophobic tweets.

Solihull Borough Council’s Jeff Potts, a councillor for the Knowle ward, retweeted several offensive and inflammatory statements, including:

“Deport and repatriate all Muslims from the UK or watch terrorists kill innocent people for generations to come,” and “You’ve clearly not experienced the Pakistani hospitality, having a daughter raped by men who think she’s ‘white trash’.”

Alongside the retweets, Councillor Potts responded to an August 31 tweet stating, “we wish all Muslims a blessed Eid ul-Adha”, with the question: “Why?”

The incendiary comment “UK police covered-up THOUSANDS of girls raped/sold by the religion of peace” drew the following response from Potts: “Is anybody surprised?”

Bob Sleigh, leader of Solihull Council, told the paper that he and his colleagues took the decision to suspend Councillor Potts from the Conservative Group as “it was the right action to take”.

Despite his suspension from the Conservatives, Potts remains a councillor however. Having been a member of the Council since May 2012, Potts is vice chairman of the council planning committee and also sits on the licensing committee, airport working party and safer Solihull board.

The Green Party’s James Burn, head of the official opposition on the council, called for Potts’ resignation labelling his current position “untenable”. Burt said, “When you start retweeting things about deporting all Muslims you are publicising views that are very close to crossing a legal line and encouraging hatred.

“I’m afraid to say I don’t think he has any other choice but to resign. By retweeting, you are spreading that view and information.”

Census figures show that more than 5,000 Muslims live in Solihull. Sabir Hussain, a trustee of the Solihull Muslim Community Assoication, voiced his disappointment with Potts’ tweets.

Hussain said, “I feel sorry for him because he is misguided and has shown narrow vision.

“There is, in any community, religion or sect, bad apples. The Muslim faith is not exempt from that. To retweet something that suggests all are like that is unfair.

“Retweeting something like that only inflames community relations that we have worked very hard to fuse together.”