Ex-councillor censured for Jimmy Savile Facebook post

Mike Harris served as a councillor for five years

An ex-councillor's Facebook post linking a man to Jimmy Savile was "highly damaging", an ombudsman ruled.

Ex-Torfaen councillor Mike Harris posted a photo of Savile in 2015 with details identifying Stephen Harris and suggesting a link with paedophilia.

Public services ombudsman for Wales Nick Bennett said it caused "deliberate and unnecessary offence".

Councillors voted to censure Mike Harris on Wednesday. He said: "It's all political."

The council's ethics and standards committee said Mr Harris had breached the code of conduct and "failed to conduct himself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute".

He did not attend the meeting.

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Mike Harris and Stephen Harris - who are not related - had fallen out previously and the ombudsman said the councillor "overstepped the line of political disagreement to purely personal insult".

The ruling quotes Stephen Harris saying: "Cllr Harris has once again linked my name with pictures of Jimmy Savile.

"I believe Cllr Harris is making a deliberate attempt to tarnish and smear my name and intimidate me with his persistent use of paedophile smears, that are easily identifiable with my status and name."

Savile, who presented TV programmes on the BBC for decades, was revealed as a serial sex offender and paedophile following his death in 2011.

Mike Harris served as an independent councillor for the Pontypool ward from 2012 to 2017, when he lost his seat in the local elections.

The report said he defended his actions, arguing he was not acting in his council role as he did not post to Facebook under the title of councillor.

Mike Harris said: "What a ridiculous waste of public money, they can't do anything, what can they do? They could have resolved this when I was a councillor, they had all this information."

Stephen Harris complained to the ombudsman in October 2015 and the report was completed in March 2017.

The council said the committee met in September and decided to give Mike Harris the chance to respond. A meeting scheduled for November had to be postponed because an officer was absent.

BBC Wales has approached Stephen Harris for comment.