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British councillor suspended after anti-Irish Eurovision tweet

British police have said they have are investigating a councillor's anti-Irish tweet. Conservativ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

11.14 14 May 2017


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British councillor suspended a...

British councillor suspended after anti-Irish Eurovision tweet

Newstalk
Newstalk

11.14 14 May 2017


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British police have said they have are investigating a councillor's anti-Irish tweet.

Conservative Party Councillor Nick Harrington has been suspended over the comments he made on Saturday night.

He composed the post seemingly after Ireland gave the UK "nul points" during voting in the Eurovision Song Contest.

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The votes were split into two categories: the jury and the public vote.

The Warwick councillor tweeted: "#Eurovision2017 thanks Ireland. You can keep your f'king gypsies! Hard border coming folks!"

Image: Twitter

The tweet sparked a backlash on social media, with at least one user saying they would report him to police for hate speech.

The Tory councillor has since deleted his Twitter account.

Warwickshire Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident.

The leader of Warwick District Council, Councillor Andrew Mobbs, confirmed to Newstalk.com that Mr Harrington has been suspended "with immediate effect for six months".

"I found his comments completely unacceptable", Councillor Mobbs said. A separate investigation is also to be launched.

Salvador Sobral from Portugal won the song competition in Kiev with 'Amar Pelos Dois'.

Twenty-six acts sang in the final on Saturday, with Ireland's Brendan Murray not making it through.

The final scoreboard of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest | Image: eurovision.tv

Additional reporting: Jack Quann


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