Police probe after town hall rumpus

Jun 28 2009 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

Mr Khan said: “There was an exchange of words between councillor Elsom and I. I told him to grow up and to get back into the wheelie bin he crawled out of.

“Then he said, ‘why don’t you go off back to where you came from?’ and there must have been about 40 witnesses. To be honest, I was shocked and horrified. You expect heated political debate, not this.”

Fellgate and Hedworth ward’s Independent councillor Geraldine White said: “I heard it. He said, ‘Why don’t you go back to where you came from?’ and everyone was shocked.”

Mr Khan’s allegations come in the week he learned he is to face a charge of common assault, after it was claimed he assaulted a high-profile member of the Bangladeshi community on the steps of South Shields Town Hall last Wednesday.

He said: “It’s nonsense and I will be putting in a Freedom of Information request to find out how much it has cost to investigate.”

It has been suggested Mr Khan has accused Mr Elsom of racism in a bid to move the spotlight away from himself.

Mr Elsom said: “He appears to be playing the victim card in an attempt to divert attention away from himself. In the meeting I thought he was being aggressive and intimidating.

“He told me to get back into the bin I crawled out of, which I presume is saying I am dirt and rubbish, so I retaliated by saying, ‘Why don’t you get back to where you came from . . . the gutter.”

A council spokesman said: “The full council meeting on Thursday, June 25 was postponed because of disruption and the failure to respect the mayor’s rulings.

“The meeting will now be held on Thursday, July 2 at 3pm.

“We do not comment on whether complaints have or have not been made to the Standards Committee until the Standards Committee has considered them.”

Mr Elsom added: “I have not seen anything like it before.”

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said they are investigating a report of racist remarks.