Tory quits after calling Ian Wright a ‘typical Black hypocrite’ in Gary Lineker row

A Tory councillor who called Ian Wright a ‘typical black hypocrite’ has resigned from the party.

Cllr Alexis McEvoy made the offensive comments on Twitter after the Match Of The Day pundit vowed to quit the BBC if they sacked Gary Lineker for his public stance on migrants.

It was sent out to her 500 followers, but it quickly caused uproar and sparked an investigation from Hampshire police.

She has now resigned from the Conservative Party and stood down from her role at the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA), and is no longer a governor of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

The councillor will now sit on New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council as an independent member.

In a statement following the outcry, Cllr McEvoy said: ‘I am aware that a tweet I sent, and then deleted, has caused offence.

‘I did not mean it to do so and I am deeply sorry.

‘I find racism in any form abhorrent, I have therefore reported myself to the monitoring officer at both Hampshire County Council and New Forest District Council and have suspended myself from both the Conservative groups at New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council, pending investigations.’

Arsenal legend Wright then accused her of making ‘a fake apology’, prompting the Tory to delete her tweet and deactivate her account.

Cllr McEvoy then said: ‘I’ve removed the tweet now, and it was taken out of context.

‘Are we going to talk about all the good things I do for people, whatever colour they are? I do a lot of good things for people. I’m not prepared to make a further comment on it.

‘I’m not stupid; we’ve got the elections coming up and people are looking for an excuse to try and discredit me.’

A district council spokesperson said: ‘The council has been informed that Cllr Alexis McEvoy is no longer a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party or the New Forest Conservative Group.

‘She has stood down from committees and outside bodies.’

Cllr McEvoy, from Langley, Hampshire, has run a restaurant and guest house in the village for years and lists her skills online as ‘exceptional communication skills, diplomacy and conflict resolution’ as well as ‘complaint handling’.

The NPA said it was aware of complaints about online content posted by Cllr McEvoy.

It added: ‘We can confirm that Cllr McEvoy is no longer a New Forest NPA board member.

‘We received written confirmation that Cllr McEvoy has resigned from the Conservative Group at the county council, from all her county council committee appointments, and from all her appointments to outside bodies.’

A University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: ‘Having been made aware of the issue, Alexis McEvoy is being stood down from her voluntary role with UHS while we investigate.’

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