Middlesbrough councillor accused of sharing offensive posts

A Middlesbrough councillor has been accused of sharing “hate-filled” social media posts linked to the war in the Middle East.

Marton West councillor Zafar Uddin shared and commented on several anti-Israel posts on Facebook including one which described several world leaders as “baby killers” and others describing Israel as a “terrorist state”.

In a post in January, he wrote “This is not war between Israel and Gaza, this is purely Gencidal [sic] act by Israel on Gaza.”

Cllr Uddin, who is also the executive member for children’s services at Middlesbrough council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was aware the issue had been reported to local and central Labour groups but declined to comment further.

The Tory party has criticised Cllr Uddin over the posts which they say are “offensive” and said the Labour party should take action against the councillor.

A spokesperson said: “Labour need to quickly take action against this councillor for these offensive social media posts.

“If not, it will show nothing has changed and members of the Labour Party are able to spout this divisive, hate-filled rhetoric without being challenged. People in Middlesbrough and across wider Teesside deserve better.”

The posts were sent to Labour and a spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints very seriously, and are investigated in line with our policies and procedures. We do not comment on individual cases.”

Middlesbrough council has also been contacted about the posts, which now appear to have been removed from Cllr Uddin’s Facebook page.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)