Facebook: Councillor cautioned for mass murderer meal deal ad

Tom Maclean has apologised for posting an image of Anders Breivik mocked up to show him holding an Asda meal deal poster

A councillor who shared a fake social media post featuring mass murderer Anders Breivik holding up an Asda £1 meal deal poster has been cautioned.

A complaint was made about Colwyn Bay councillor Tom Maclean to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

After the post attracted attention Mr Maclean immediately removed it and apologised for any offence caused.

The ombudsman, Michelle Morris, concluded his actions were "wholly inappropriate" but were unintentional.

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The post shared on 9 November 2022 showed Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 children in 2011.

But Mr Maclean, an independent councillor serving on Bay of Colwyn town council, claimed he didn't know who the person in the picture was.

The doctored picture was used to highlight the £1 meal being offered over-60s.

In a summary of her findings, Ms Morris said she considered whether his actions breached the code of conduct.

She added: "However, the member claimed that the link was unintentional and, although the ombudsman considered the member's explanation for how the post was made lacked credibility, no evidence was provided to the contrary and no information about similar behaviours was provided by the complainant."

Ms Morris described the post as "wholly inappropriate" but, given the lack of engagement by the complainant, the member's remorse, the challenge of disproving his explanation, and immediate removal of the post, she did not consider that any further investigation would be in the public interest.

"The member was warned to take care when making public posts in future and the investigation was discontinued," she added.

Who is Anders Breivik?

A sea of flowers and candles were left by mourners in Oslo after the attacks

Breivik is a neo-Nazi terrorist who killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo in July 2011 before shooting dead 69 people at a summer youth camp.

He was sentenced to 21 years in jail after he was deemed to be sane by a Norwegian court in 2012.

Breivik refused to plead guilty, saying the attacks were necessary to stop the "Islamisation" of Norway.

In February, a Norwegian court rejected his bid for release ruling he had not changed and remained a risk to society.