Dudley councillor suspended over 'Islamophobic' tweets

Colin Elcock also faces possible disciplinary action by the standards board of the authority

A councillor accused of tweeting Islamophobic comments has been suspended from the Conservative group of Dudley Council.

Colin Elcock, who represents Norton ward, could now face expulsion from the party over claims he wrote tweets saying Islam was "domination not integration" and asking whether people in Iran were "all on the dole".

The tweets have since been deleted.

The council's deputy chief executive said the authority was investigating.

Mr Elcock has been contacted for comment.

He has also been accused of making a sexist comment when responding to another tweet which contained a picture of woman's bottom, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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Mr Elcock's suspension came after he met with the leader of the council and the Conservative group, Patrick Harley, on Friday.

Mr Harley said: "The 21-day period allows local Conservatives and Conservative central office to consider the suitability of Councillor Elock holding a position which is representative of the party.

"His conduct does not reflect the values of the modern Conservative party."

The council's deputy chief executive said the authority was investigating complaints relating to tweets

Further action may be taken when the Conservative group meets on 25 January, Mr Harley added.

Mr Elcock also faces possible disciplinary action by the standards board for allegedly breaching the authority's code of conduct.

The tweets have been deleted

Alan Lunt, deputy chief executive of the council, said: "The council's monitoring officer has received two complaints relating to comments on Twitter made by an elected member which will be investigated further before any decision is made."

In November, the vice-chairman of Stourbridge Conservative Association, Kyle Pedley, resigned from the party amid accusations of Islamophobia.