Warwickshire councillors apologise for special needs comments

Three Warwickshire councillors accused of making offensive comments about children with special educational needs have apologised.

The remarks included the claim some children were "just really badly behaved", and parents were swapping diagnosis tips on social media.

The council is investigating complaints about the comments made at a meeting about special needs support last month.

Warwickshire County Council said it "acknowledges the scale of the upset".

The three councillors at the centre of the controversy are Conservatives Jeff Morgan, Brian Hammersley and Clare Golby.

Councillor Clare Golby said she apologised for any offence caused by her remarks at the meeting in January

At a meeting about the rising cost of council support on 25 January, Mr Morgan had questioned whether some children receiving funding were "just really badly behaved."

Mr Hammersley asked if "something in the water" was increasing special needs cases, with Mrs Golby having questioned whether the increase could be linked to social media sites where families were "swapping tips on how to their children diagnosed."

The remarks prompted anger from parents, with the local authority confirming it had received a number of complaints following the meeting.

All three councillors have since apologised, with Mr Morgan saying he regretted "any offence caused by my choice of words.".

"It was never my intention to offend, and I regret the words I used to make a point about demand and need in the SEND area," he added.

Councillor Brian Hammersley (left) said he regretted the clumsiness of his words and Jeff Morgan said he had had no intention to offend anybody

Mr Hammersley said he was "terribly sorry" and wished to "apologise unreservedly for the comments".

"I regret my clumsiness and lack of care in choosing my words and can see the upset and offence they caused," he said.

Mrs Golby said she accepted the words used at the meeting "were open to interpretation".

"I have spent many years working hard to support children and families in the SEND community and it was never my intention to offend," she added.

"I apologise for any offence caused."

A council spokesperson added: "It is clear that these comments have caused significant offence, distress and upset to children and their families within the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) community."

"The council takes that very seriously."