Essex Police probe hate crime report after Tory quits

Marco Lorenzini, centre, had won the Bush Fair seat in Harlow, Essex, by four votes on 5 May

A police investigation has begun after a new Conservative councillor in Essex was accused of sharing "racist" comments on social media.

Marco Lorenzini was said to have retweeted posts described as racist and was dropped by his local party.

He then stepped down from Harlow Council, five days after being elected for the Bush Fair seat.

Essex Police said it was investigating a report of a hate incident in relation to a number of social media posts.

Mr Lorenzini has not yet spoken about his social media activity or the actions of the Conservative Party against him.

He has been approached by the BBC for comment.

• Tories drop new councillor over 'racist' retweets

Mr Lorenzini won his seat by four votes, ahead of the Labour candidate Kay Morrison, as the Tories kept control of the district council.

But it later came to light that a social media account linked to him retweeted what have been described as racist comments.

Conservative councillor Dan Swords called the tweets "disgusting" and that "the candidate [Mr Lorenzini] claimed he did not have any social media accounts".

Essex Police said it was assessing whether any criminal offences had taken place and would follow the College of Policing guidance while it investigated.

Mr Lorenzini could have remained a councillor and sat as an independent, but the district council said he resigned "with immediate effect" on Tuesday.

Harlow Council said a by-election would take place on Thursday, 23 June.