Councillor resigns over Islamophobic Facebook post

Susan Scott had represented the Fairfield ward

A councillor has resigned after being accused of posting Islamophobic comments on social media.

Screenshots shared with the BBC showed comments from a profile in the name of Stockton councillor Susan Scott suggesting Muslims would "do whatever it takes" to make the whole world Islamic.

Stockton Borough Council's Labour leader Bob Cook said the Tory councillor had "done the right thing and resigned" in the wake of criticism.

The authority's Conservative group leader Tony Riordan confirmed Ms Scott's resignation following "a recent social media post", with a by-election now being arranged.

The post, which also said "we ignore this threat at our peril", was made on a Facebook page dedicated to local politics.

The Stockton Liberal Democrats group expressed "deep concern and disappointment" in relation to the comments and said they came at a particularly volatile time.

Chair Mo Waqas said: "In light of the recent riots and attacks on mosques, it is especially irresponsible for Councillor Scott to be making such harmful statements."

Calling for a retraction of the comments and an apology from Ms Scott, he said Islamophobia should be addressed and "condemned unequivocally" as he called on the community to come together to reject all forms of hate speech.

A council spokesman confirmed the formal resignation of Ms Scott, who represented the Fairfield ward, and said a by-election would be organised.

The BBC has attempted to contact Ms Scott.