Essex County Council leader statement due on Simon Harris payments

Simon Harris received the money to run Facebook groups during the Covid pandemic for Essex County Council

The leader of a council that paid an internet prankster more than £500,000 has said he will make a public statement on the issue following an outcry.

Simon Harris received the money to run Facebook groups and carry out other work during the Covid pandemic for Essex County Council.

He maintained the money covered more than updating social media content.

The council said the matter would also be referred to the relevant committee.

Mr Harris kept about £367,000 of the sum and the rest was paid to contractors who managed the Essex Coronavirus Action Support Facebook page, which was subsequently renamed Essex Is United.

Kevin Bentley, the leader of the council, confirmed he would make a statement at a full council meeting on the 13 February, following calls to do so by the Liberal Democrat opposition.

He said: "There has been a report into what happened and I'm just reaffirming what's in that report."

Last week the council provided a list of detailed answers on its website about payments made to Mr Harris between March 2020 and April 2023, in response to questions from the BBC and others.

It disclosed how Mr Harris passed on at least £163,190 to sub-contractors and he confirmed that he kept the remainder of the £530,000 as payment for his services.

It was also revealed how "social media suppliers" were paid almost £1m by the council between April 2017 and March 2024.

Mr Bentley added "all the information is already out there".

Council leader Kevin Bentley said "all the information is already out there" regarding the payments to Mr Harris

The Tiger King

Councillor Mike Mackrory, the leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group, said: "I am amazed that the motion has been accepted in its entirety. I suppose the Conservatives would have been unable to vote against our motion, as it would so obviously look like they were brushing the scandal under the carpet."

Mr Harris had previously told the BBC that his work also included recruiting volunteers during the pandemic, and that he had organised a range of different campaigns, including climate action work.

"[The work included] content creation from a number of different individuals, from social media influencers right up to very famous individuals who provided their own spin on Covid-19 guidance from central government," he said.

These famous individuals included animal rights activist Carole Baskin, from the Netflix series The Tiger King, who was paid to urge Essex residents residents to wear masks and maintain social distancing during the pandemic.

Ms Baskin was paid an undisclosed amount for her work.

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: "The leader of the council has already said there will be an executive statement responding to this issue at [a] full council [meeting] on 13 February, and which refers the matter to the council's Audit, Governance and Standards Committee for examination."