THE husband of Brentwood Mayor Anne Coe says he is to close his Twitter account, claiming it had been hijacked by another user.
Paul Barrell, who tweets as @sadcopper, wrote at 4.03pm on December 13: "Sadly some unknown persons have been using my account to post twitters I have not agreed to. This acc will be closed."
It is not clear how many tweets were posted without the consent of Mr Barrell, an ex-policeman of Weald Road, South Weald.
Unauthorised access or use of another person's Twitter account is an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
A series of tweets had been issued from his account on Tuesday evening after a Brentwood Borough Council meeting, where a decision to award grants totalling £54,745 to 25 community groups was called in.
The call-in was requested by three Tory councillors – Will Russell, Roger McCheyne and Mrs Coe – although all three voted not to take the matter further.
After the meeting, Councillor Russell Quirk tweeted: "Tonight's proceedings so spurious that even the three cllrs (sic) that started the process voted against their own motion to revise revision."
Resident Ann Cardus replied: "Mad as badgers, the lot of 'em."
Then a message was issued from Mr Barrell's account, which read: "I don't know who you are but it is important we hold all our councillors to account (sic) you are clearly stupid."
Cllr Quirk replied: "Paul. Not the sort of comment people expect from the Mayor's consort. You should apologise to Ann Cardus." No reply was forthcoming.
A separate tweet from Mr Barrell's account said: "All the chairs (sic) charities and his cronies got money!"
Another tweet to Phoenix FM presenter Jules Bottazzi read: "@JulesBottazzi @ldkatz71 funny how Russel quick (sic) speaks on your radio station all the time. Just shows we need regulation on the media."
Ms Bottazzi said: "I received a couple of sarcastic messages from someone I didn't know on Twitter, full of murky innuendo.
"Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was from the account of the mayor of Brentwood's consort.
"The account user insulted various other figures that night and called a resident 'stupid'."
Station manager Paul Golder joined the Twitter debate, saying: "The user seems angry at anyone who was pleased community groups are getting their money.
"The account has also said publicly that we need to be regulated because we allow our councillors to come in and talk."
The Gazette attempted to contact both Mr Barrell and his wife, although neither had responded before the Gazette went to press.
It is unclear if the matter has been reported to Essex Police. A spokesman said: "I am not in a position to confirm whether someone has made a complaint."
Community groups awarded nearly £55,000 – page 7
