Salcombe Town Councillor resigns after sharing social media post that breached code of conduct

Former Salcombe Town Councillor Andrew Hainey has resigned after posting an image to his Facebook page. 

The post, which reads in full: "See this flag! It's not Great Bangladesh! Great Pakistan! Great Nigeria! Great Somalia! Or even Great Romania! It is Great Britain! If you don't like it or respect it, feel free to f*** right off!'' was shared to Facebook by Mr Hainey on 17 June. 

The image shared to Andrew Hainey's Facebook page (without the bad language at the bottom) - Facebook 

Salcombe Town Council said that "until a complaint was received, the town council had no knowledge of this post" and that they contacted as soon as they were made aware Mr Hainey in case his account had been hacked. When that wasn't the case, the spokesperson said he was "advised and asked to remove this post". 

They added: "This was a personal post and is not representative of Town Council. Town Council expect all councillors to observe the Code of Conduct and will not tolerate any breach of it. He has resigned with his resignation being accepted forthwith."

We have been unable to contact Mr Hainey directly, although he has been quoted elsewhere as saying: ''I am not a member of Salcombe Town Council.

''I have resigned as I will not have my personal views controlled by other people.

''I am a firm believer in if you live in this country you abide by its rules and traditions.

''If this upsets any one so be it.''

If Mr Hainey would like to contact us, please can he email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Image - Andrew Hainey, credit Salcombe Town Council