A PROMINENT councillor has admitted calling a member of the public a ‘Nazi’ at a council meeting.

Pendle peer and councillor Lord Tony Greaves was filmed calling a member of the public a Nazi during Pendle Council’s planning meeting Thursday, which discussed the extension of a mosque in Exchange Street.

Lord Greaves has now been accused of improper conduct by Craig McBeth, who spoke in opposition to the mosque extension at the meeting, as a non-voted co-opted member of Colne and District committee.

Mr McBeth said: “I was speaking at the meeting and some members of the public were filming behind Lord Greaves and when Dorothy Lord, who was sitting next to him, started speaking she asked them to stop filming.

“The man with the camera asked why, as he is allowed to film in a public meeting and then Lord Greaves turned around and said ‘he’s a Nazi’.

“Things got a little heated and the police were called and the men filming were escorted out of the town hall.

“I would suggest that the man filming puts in an official complaint as this is improper conduct by a councillor. He was accused of provoking the councillors but he didn’t do anything.

“Lord Greaves should make an apology to the man or be kicked off the council.”

Lord Greaves has admitted calling the man filming him a Nazi. He said: “Yes, I did call him a Nazi, because he is one. He was exhibiting Nazi sympathies and there was aggressive and thuggish nature from the people stood behind us. They then blew up completely and had to be removed by the police.

“Their general behaviour was aggressive, they were standing immediately behind us and muttering, and the person speaking on their behalf - Craig McBeth - was putting across a message of hate against the local Muslim population.

“We have since voted to remove him from the committee as him and his friends have been stirring up hatred in the town for some time and causing trouble for the relatively small Muslim and Asian community.

“They are fascists and Neo Nazis and I don’t want to comply with these people who are nasty and trying to stir up trouble.”

Mr McBeth added: "I have not been made aware they had voted to remove me from the committee.

"As for the accusations about stirring up trouble, that's just a way of Tony Greaves labelling someone who doesn't agree with his point of view.

"I haven't whipped up any trouble, all I've done is go through the proper channels by setting up a petition and speaking at the council meeting."

In June, Mr McBeth set up a petition opposing an application to convert Saint Bartholomew’s Church School into a mosque. In 2016, he resigned as a governor of Park Primary School in Colne after he was banned from the premise for wearing an offensive t-shirt.

A spokesperson for the police said: "We were aware that the meeting was happening and there would be potential for protestors attending.

"As a result, six people were removed from the meeting and the building."