'Bring back Golliwog' Forest of Dean councillor resigns Published duration 22 February 2018

image copyright Forest of Dean District image caption Councillor Lynn Sterry claimed she had shared the post and not "given it a thought"

A councillor who backed a social media campaign to 'Bring Back the Golliwog' has resigned from her post.

Lynn Sterry, former chair of the Forest of Dean District Council's Standards Committee, shared a Facebook post calling for the return of the doll.

The council said an officer had spoken to Ms Sterry and she had resigned.

Ms Sterry claimed she had shared the post in innocence but has since apologised "unreservedly" for any hurt that sharing the post may have caused.

A council spokesperson said it had been "dismayed at the comments" made by the Labour councillor which "in no way represents the views" of the authority.

"The monitoring officer has spoken to Councillor Lynn Sterry and as a result we can confirm that Councillor Sterry has resigned," they said.

Ms Sterry had claimed she had shared the post and not "given it a thought", as it reminded her of a childhood toy she had in the 1950s.

"It gave me a lot of joy and a lot of pleasure - why wouldn't you give a child a golly and that's why I pressed share," she said.

image caption Valerie Simms, who runs the Diversity Festival in Gloucester, said Ms Sterry's actions had been naive

But in a statement Ms Sterry said she had resigned as chair of the district council's standards committee and Cinderford Town Council "in recognition of my mistake".

"I apologise unreservedly, and from my heart, for any hurt that my sharing of the Facebook tweet may have caused. I never intended to offend or support racism," she said.

She added that it was "not enough to say sorry" and she needed to be "more thoughtful about my actions, the words I use and the message they send".

Valerie Simms, who runs the Diversity Festival in Gloucester, said the councillor's actions had been naive.

"Because of her position, she should have been a lot more aware because it will bring up a lot more negativity because of the sharing," she said.

The council has launched an investigation into the matter.