A COUNCILLOR has likened a Malmesbury Facebook group to a terror organisation after he was criticised by members.

Wiltshire Council's Simon Killane made the comment in response to the Keeping Malmesbury Great group, which is administered by resident Chris Harvey.

Cllr Killane, who hopes to become north Wiltshire's next MP, has criticised Mr Harvey for allowing "derogatory" comments about him to remain on the page.

The councillor recorded a six minute video of himself explaining how claims on the page were inaccurate.

In the video he said: “People create these groups, they spread hate crime, they spread malicious lies, they spread accusations of corruption to all sorts of people.

“I want to go to Parliament as your MP to say there’s no difference between a terror group and a terror Facebook group.”

Speaking to The Standard, Cllr Killane added: “I am and my family are being terrorised by people using Facebook. Their threat to say that ‘we’d cut somebody up and put them in a bag’ – that’s terror.

“It’s terror to put up signs saying Simon Killane not welcome here.

“That’s apartheid.”

The sign he referred to belongs to Malmesbury resident John Slater who said he put up the notice because he does not want to be visited by Cllr Killane during his campaign to become an independent MP.

John Slater said that Cllr Killane’s comments were unacceptable and that his sign would stay.

He said: “Having lived under terrorism for 20 years and him being Irish he should know better than to put comments like that. Anyone who doesn’t agree with him is a troll, a hater or a terrorist.”

Mr Slater explained that when Malmesbury town councillor Gavin Grant ran for election Mr Killane supported his opponent and left nine leaflets in Mr Slater’s letterbox to support the other candidate.

 “I’ll be taking as polite an approach as I can. I don’t hate the man; I don’t know him well enough.

“I just don’t want him near hear bringing around leaflets, or any of his supporters.”