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Councillor condemned after anti-gay comments
A Belper Conservative county councillor has been suspended by his party after making anti-gay comments in a magazine.
Cllr Patrick Clark, member for Belper South and Duffield, was suspended from Derbyshire County Council's Conservative group on Wednesday, April 8, after the comments came to light in the latest edition of the Duffield Scene magazine.
The councillor will still be able to carry out his duties as an elected member of the authority until the county elections in June.
Cllr Clark's remarks were included in a letter explaining why he was not standing for re-election this year.
He said: "I am pretty fed up with the social engineering and political correctness which seem to drive the dysfunctional society we now have to live in.
"I also object to being required to embrace an agenda that actively supports and positively discriminates in favour of people who I consider to be sexual deviants and who engage in practices which are contrary to my religious beliefs."
Cllr Robin Baldry, group whip for the county's Conservative group, said there was no room in the party for the type of views expressed.
He said: "I would like to make it clear that the Conservative group at Matlock greatly values and supports our party's commitment to social inclusion and diversity."
Cllr Clark refused to comment to the News on his suspension.
But fellow Belper county councillor Joyce Sanders, chairman of the authority, said: "I'm disappointed in the attitude Patrick has taken. I thought it was quite unnecessary to publish these thoughts in a local magazine, even if he had them."
He has served on the authority for eight years. Standing for election in his place will be Cllr Stuart Bradford, current leader of Amber Valley Borough Council.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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