A Tory councillor who labelled Ian Wright a “typical black hypocrite” has quit the party.
Cllr Alexis McEvoy made the racist comment on Twitter as she reacted to Wright’s decision to not appear on Match of the Day in an act of solidarity with Gary Lineker after he was removed from the football highlight show.
McEvoy sent the tweet out to her hundreds of followers. It quickly caused uproar, with Hampshire police launching an investigation.
She has now resigned from the Conservative Party, has stood down from her role on the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA), and is no longer a governor of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
The councillor will sit on New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council as an independent member, LBC reports.
In a statement following the outcry, Cllr McEvoy said: “I am aware that a tweet I sent, and then deleted, has caused offence.
“I did not mean it to do so and I am deeply sorry.
“I find racism in any form abhorrent, I have therefore reported myself to the monitoring officer at both Hampshire County Council and New Forest District Council and have suspended myself from both the Conservative groups at New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council, pending investigations.”
“Keep your fake apology to yourself”
Speaking on his Wrighty’s House podcast, the former Arsenal and Crystal Palace striker told McEvoy to “keep your fake apology to yourself.”
Her tweet was deleted and her Twitter account deactivated.
Cllr McEvoy then said: “I’ve removed the tweet now, and it was taken out of context.
“Are we going to talk about all the good things I do for people, whatever colour they are? I do a lot of good things for people. I’m not prepared to make a further comment on it.
“I’m not stupid; we’ve got the elections coming up and people are looking for an excuse to try and discredit me.”
No longer a board member
A district council spokesperson today said: “The council has been informed that Cllr Alexis McEvoy is no longer a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party or the New Forest Conservative Group.
“She has stood down from committees and outside bodies.”
The NPA said it was aware of complaints about online content posted by Cllr McEvoy.
It added: “We can confirm that Cllr McEvoy is no longer a New Forest NPA board member.
“We received written confirmation that Cllr McEvoy has resigned from the Conservative Group at the county council, from all her county council committee appointments, and from all her appointments to outside bodies.”
A University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “Having been made aware of the issue, Alexis McEvoy is being stood down from her voluntary role with UHS while we investigate.”
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