A councillor has hit out at "keyboard warriors" after one of his colleagues faced questions from Guardian journalist Owen Jones at the Conservative Party Conference.
Coun Paul Ezhilchelvan accused Mr Jones of 'ambushing' fellow councillor Jeff Watson last weekend and branded the journalist "ideological."
The columnist and left-wing activist had asked Coun Watson, who is Northumberland County Council's cabinet member for healthy lives about the risk of malnutrition in the UK, to which Coun Watson had said he did not see "people dying on the streets of malnutrition." His comments led to calls for his resignation from Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery.
Speaking at Thursday's meeting of the council's health and wellbeing board, Coun Ezhilchelvan - the meeting's chair - suggested the questions had come about because of comments made by Coun Watson in a previous meeting.
He said: "Coun Watson was ambushed in Birmingham by some ideological people and asked lots of questions about health and wellbeing, in front of a camera and mike. The trigger appears to be a very simple question he asked in this meeting about costs of living.
"That question from the recording has been misinterpreted in the press and then some ideologically driven people started to blame him, as though he is a heartless person. He has been subjected to enormous scrutiny and I really felt sorry for him.
"This mob, both in keyboard warriors on social media and similar people, seem to think people of a certain political persuasion can't have heart, can't have compassion and it is there sole right to talk about wellbeing."
In August, Coun Watson, who represents the Amble West with Warkworth ward, had suggested that the lower cost of living in the North East when compared to the likes of London means wages don't need to be as high as they are in the capital.
However, Mr Jones' interview with Coun Watson was part of a series of interviews with Conservative members at the party conference. There is no suggestion Coun Watson was individually targeted for interview.
Coun Ezhilchelvan argued that some parts of the health and wellbeing board should be held privately to allow members to have a "open, free-flowing discussion" about wellbeing matters.
He continued: "This health and wellbeing board is all about looking at data and understanding statistics. Asking questions in this meeting is very essential to understand complex topics like inequality.
"My worry is that our whole meetings will be a box-ticking exercise which I don't want it to be. We need to ask these questions.
"The fact that all of our discussions are on record, on video and everything sometimes has led to people being harassed - not because of their desire to understand, but because of their political persuasion.
"Looking around, there are only two other elected members so it worries me sometimes. I need to discuss how much of these meetings should be in public and how much can be done in private.
"When the meeting is held in private, we can have a very good, open, free-flowing discussion on the facts. This is something I would like to raise with the council leader and the cabinet."
All meetings of a council, including meetings of its committees or sub-committees, must by law be open to the public, expect in limited defined circumstances where national rules allow the meetings to be held behind closed doors.
According to Government documents, the rules require a meeting to be closed to the public in two circumstances:
- If the presence of the public is likely to result in the council breaching a legal
obligation to third parties about the keeping of confidential information; or - a lawful power is used to exclude the public in order to maintain orderly conduct or
prevent misbehaviour at a meeting.
Read next:
- Gary Barlow praises 'beautiful' Northumberland after staying in region between Tyne Theatre shows
- Residents fear 'constant sound of bat on ball' as cricket practice net plans approved
- Cramlington woman who has spent majority of her life lying down is in a coma after first part of operation
- Two North East areas make the top five Covid hotspots across the UK in new ONS data
- 'Appalling:' Northumberland schools slammed for excluding pupils who breach uniform rules
