Council defends censored swear word social posts

Council leader Anthony Okereke said residents had taken the posts in a light-hearted way

Social media posts by Greenwich Council featuring censored swear words have been criticised by some councillors for being "unprofessional and offensive".

The council defended the posts, saying they had been viewed by thousands and that nobody else had complained.

The posts came after the south-east London authority announced it would be investing £5m to tackle fly-tipping, including the installation of new CCTV cameras, a public reward scheme and tougher sanctions.

The council's X and Facebook pages both had a picture of a refuse worker throwing a bag of rubbish into a compactor, with the statement: "We're not putting up with this s*** anymore."

Some councillors have said the posts are unprofessional and do not set a good example

The Independent and Green Group on Greenwich Council have asked for the posts to be be taken down, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Independent member Lakshan Saldin said they were "not appropriate in a public communication" and "not an example we should be setting to our young people in our roles as community leaders".

Council leader Anthony Okereke said residents had taken the posts in the light-hearted way they were intended, none had made a complaint, and he described the borough's fly-tipping problems as far more offensive.