Tory councillor apologises after posting a Facebook photo of 14 naked women in a boat captioned ‘If Carlsberg did illegal immigrants’
A Tory councillor is being investigated by council chiefs after sharing photo of a boat full of 14 naked women with a caption reading ‘If Carlsberg did illegal immigrants’.
Mike Kusneraitis, a Conservative councillor on the Tory-run Runneymede Borough Council in Surrey, said he should be judged on his actions in the community, not by ‘misjudged postings on social media’.
The councillor admitted making a number of ‘offensive’ postings on a Facebook page, which have now been removed.
Among the postings included a dog with a towel on his head and a sexually explicit cartoon, both posted on the Facebook page of the Peoples Front of Egham, which is currently unavailable.
He also posted an image on July 24 showing a boat full of 14 naked women, with a caption reading ‘If Carlsberg did illegal immigrants’.
Writing on his own Facebook page at the weekend, Cllr Kusneraitis, of Egham, Surrey, apologised if he offended anyone.
He wrote: ‘I would like to state that it was never my intention to offend or upset anyone and if I have done then I want take this opportunity to apologise sincerely and wholeheartedly.
‘Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not and have never been a racist.
‘Judge me by my actions in the community not by a misjudged post on social media.’
Leaders of the Tory party in the area confirmed today that it is looking into the postings by Cllr Kusneraitis, which were made in July and August this year.
Peter Taylor, the chairman of the Runnymede and Weybridge Conservative Association, said he was investigating.
He said: ‘At the moment I have not got a comment to make because I’ve only just seen the images. I need to consult with people.’
The Tory councillor is being investigated by council chiefs after sharing this photo of a boat full of 14 naked women with a caption reading ‘If Carlsberg did illegal immigrants’
Writing on his own Facebook page at the weekend, Cllr Kusneraitis, of Egham, Surrey, apologised if he offended anyone
Writing on his own Facebook page at the weekend, Cllr Kusneraitis, of Egham, Surrey, apologised if he offended anyone
Local Ian Cruickshank, 43, said: ‘Posting a photo of 14 naked women on a boat while making light of the plight of illegal immigration is something he should have realised was wrong.’
Mushtaq Deshmukh, the chair of the Islamic Welfare Association of West Surrey, said he had invited Cllr Kusneraitis to a ‘Meet Your Muslim Neighbour’ meeting on September 19.
He said: ‘Whether it is true or not, I would like to extend an invitation to the councillor to one of our events, namely ‘Meet Your Muslim Neighbour’.
‘He can meet Muslims from the local community and maybe learn more about us and then make an educated opinion about Muslims, rather than be like those who have opinions about Muslims without having ever met a Muslim and asked him or her what do they actually believe in.’
