Ian Wright Twitter row: Alexis McEvoy stands down from Conservative Party and New Forest National Park Authority, among others
New Forest councillor Alexis McEvoy has resigned from the Conservative Party and been stood down from public roles, including on New Forest National Park Authority, after calling Ian Wright a "typical black hypocrite" on Twitter.
This follows Hampshire police saying they were investigating the councillor's tweet as a potential crime against the Match of the Day pundit.
Cllr McEvoy, who now sits on NFDC and Hampshire County Council as an independent member, made the tweet in relation to Mr Wright's stance over Gary Lineker's criticisms of the government's language on immigration.
She has since apologised and deleted her Twitter account, pending investigations by the Conservatives and both district and county councils.
Within a few hours of Hampshire police announcing their investigation, the NPA issued a statement saying: "We are aware of significant media attention and complaints about online content posted by Alexis McEvoy, who at the time was a Hampshire County Council-appointed member of the New Forest National Park Authority board.
"We can confirm that Cllr Alexis McEvoy is no longer a New Forest NPA board member.
"(On Friday) 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."
Before a recent update, Cllr McEvoy's county council page listed her membership on several outside bodies, including as vice-chair of the Southern Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority.
She was also listed as chair of Calshot Activities Centre Association and a member of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum advisory committee, New Forest Business Partnership, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership and as a volunteer governor with University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
A spokesperson for the trust said on Twitter: "Having been made aware of the issue, Alexis McEvoy is being stood down from her voluntary role with UHS while we investigate."
The NPA has now said it will review how outside appointments are made, with a spokesperson adding: "On Wednesday 15th March we stated that Cllr McEvoy’s comments, ‘while not made in her capacity as a national park authority member, in no way reflect the views of the authority. Creating an inclusive national park is a key part of our work. We expect that everyone involved in the national park plays a full part in championing this and our values’.
"We continue to take forward and build on our work promoting equality and diversity in our national park, which our partner authorities have signed up to within our shared partnership plan.
"This week has shown that we need to review with appointing authorities how NPA members are recruited and what action can be taken in circumstances such as these.
"We will also look at our own processes for complaints and social media use, with a view to a clarification and tightening of our own policies."
Following the announcement of a criminal investigation by Hampshire police, both NFDC and its Conservative group issued updated statements.
An NFDC spokesperson said: "The council has been informed by the leader Cllr Jill Cleary 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 any committees and outside bodies to which she was appointed by NFDC."
In her party statement, Cllr Cleary said: “Following receipt of a number of complaints regarding a social media post made, and then deleted, by Councillor Alexis McEvoy on her personal social media account, Councillor McEvoy has resigned as a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party. Councillor McEvoy is therefore no longer a member of either New Forest District or Hampshire County Councils' Conservative Groups and will sit as an Independent."
