A FORMER Rossendale councillor has been censured following comments posted on Twitter.

Jason Gledhill, who represented the Conservatives in Longholme ward in Rawtenstall between May 2008 and April this year, was found to have breached the council’s code of conduct by a standards board sub-committee.

The comments, posted in August 2011 and January 2012 while Mr Gledhill was still a serving councillor, were directed at Labour Councillor Elizabeth McInnes and the trade union Unite.

Rossendale Council said they were prompted to investigate Mr Gledhill’s comments after it received complaints alleging he had used offensive and disrespectful language that breached his equalities duties.

A spokesperson said: “The complainant felt bullied and the comments brought the council into disrepute.

“The panel found that he had breached the code by not treating the complainant with respect.

“The reasons for this decision were that his comments were political in content and were made on a social networking site with no privacy settings.”

Mr Gledhill said the comments were made in ‘a personal capacity’ and had ‘nothing to do with my business as a councillor’.

He said: “Most adult people wouldn’t be offended by what was said. It was kind of tongue-in-cheek.

“The people who follow me on Twitter do so voluntarily. Political people should have a thicker skin.

“I was in front of a kangaroo committee with a Labour majority who only gave me a few days to respond and refused to allow me to present evidence.

“The comments were not posted using Rossendale Council computers or software and my profile did not even make reference to the fact I was a councillor.

“The findings of the panel are utterly ridiculous and demonstrate everything that is wrong with local politics. Freedom of speech is under threat from the nanny state.”

Mr Gledhill, who was dealt with by the panel in September, said he has no intention to stand as a councillor again.