Solihull cabinet member suspended following "hanging" tweet

CONTROVERSY: The comment which has
led to Coun Hawkins' suspension.

A FORMER Mayor of Solihull faces an investigation following a formal complaint about a tweet which he posted following the Grenfell fire tragedy.
Councillor Ken Hawkins had responded to a photo shared by a Guardian journalist, which showed residents upset by the authorities' handling of the crisis gathered at Kensington Town Hall.
The retired police officer had tweeted "Lets get ourselves a hangin" and accused the media of stirring up tensions following the blaze, in which 79 people have been confirmed dead or are missing presumed dead.
Today, Solihull Council confirmed that, following a formal complaint, Coun Hawkins had been suspended from his duties as the cabinet member for the environment, housing and regeneration with immediate effect.
Leader of Solihull Council, Bob Sleigh, said: "In light of the complaint related to Coun Hawkins' comments on social media, an investigation will now take place led by the council's monitoring officer in line with the council's standards procedure."
In the meantime, Coun Sleigh will himself be taking responsibility for his colleague's portfolio.
Prior to posting the tweet, Coun Hawkins had visited high-rise buildings in Chelmsley Wood in an effort to reassure residents about fire safety standards.
He has since deleted the post which prompted the backlash and today shared an apology.
"I fully appreciate that my tweet on Friday, which related to protests outside and inside the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea council offices, may have caused offence and I unreservedly apologise for that.
"In no way whatsoever was the short message directed at the unfortunate victims of the Grenfell Tower fire and I am distraught that some people have interpreted it in this way."
While some had taken to Twitter calling on Coun Hawkins to stand down, former councillor John Bramham defended his ex-colleague.
"It might have been unwise of him to put that out into the public domain, but it certainly doesn't reflect who Ken is or what he's about."

• During a meeting of Solihull's cabinet last week, councillors discussed the local response following events in London. A full report will be in this month's edition of Other Side of Solihull.