Walsall mayor suspended over WhatsApp post says she hasn't got 'racist bone' in her body

Long-standing councillor Rose Martin, who took up the mayoral role last month, says her account was "compromised" after she clicked on a link which led to an image appearing on her account status.

The Pelsall representative – who is going through the process of appealing the six-month suspension from the national Conservative Party – said she hadn't got a "racist bone" in her body and had been a force for good in the borough over 19 years, representing a diverse community.

The WhatsApp post related to an image showing five black children looking at one white child under the caption ‘First day at school for a Ukrainian refugee in South London’.

Councillor Martin said: "It's affected my health and mayoralty. I'm sorry about the post, it was an accident – it wasn't malicious.

"It was on WhatsApp, on my WhatsApp, and I clicked on a link and it ended up on my status.

"I never put anything up there. My status is the standard 'Hi, I'm using WhatsApp'. I didn't know anything about it until the next day.

"I'm so sorry about that and I'm upset about it. I've had 19 years serving a very very diverse community without blemish and for all this to happen after almost 20 years of hard work, it's really mired my mayoralty."

The long-serving councillor, who said the link was sent through "unsolicited mail" which she had tried to delete, said her daughter first made her aware of it – and it has been reported to the police.

Councillor Martin added that the six-month suspension by her party had related to a mishandling of social media – and she had been subject to "vicious" verbal abuse over the WhatsApp status, which even landed her in hospital.

And she has accused someone of trying to discredit her for making a simple error made without malice which she apologised for, adding she is in her 70s and isn't "proficient" at social media.

"You can do 200 good deeds and then it's mired by a simple mistake," she said, citing her work in adult social care and how she pioneered a campaign in Walsall to reduce the number of teenage mothers.

"I made sure Walsall Council had a strategy to help reduce the number of teen mothers and it's working. That's how much I love the Walsall people – I'm just trying to improve their lives and wellbeing any way I can."

The mayor added she had visited a string of diverse communities over the last few days in her role. She added: "I've not got a malicious bone in my body and I'm certainly not racist."

A resident saw the WhatsApp status and lodged an official complaint with the national Conservatives, sparking the party investigations. Walsall Council and Tory group leader Mike Bird confirmed he was aware Councillor Martin had been handed a six-month suspension, directed to undertake diversity training as well as making an apology to the party board.

The suspension does not prevent Councillor Martin from continuing in her new role or as an elected member for Pelsall. If the appeal fails, she will sit as an independent councillor for six months before being able to apply to rejoin the party.

At the mayor-making ceremony, Labour leader Aftab Nawaz said his group could not support Councillor Martin’s nomination as mayor due to the issue involving the WhatsApp message.