A VETERAN councillor is facing a code of conduct complaint after allegedly saying a Nazi-adopted phrase at a council meeting.
Coun Joe Hayward, who represents the Cudworth ward, was accused of saying ‘ich heil’ last Thursday.
Barnsley Council confirmed that a complaint had been received but Coun Hayward claimed he was misheard.
“The conversation was that there have been extremists in history who wore swastikas and used to speak the words ‘sieg heil’,” he said.
“Clearly the member got this wrong in using the words ‘ich heil’ and the conclusions he drew from that.
“Equally it appears he is trying to make political capital from this which is unfortunate but not surprising.”
A spokesperson from Barnsley Labour Group added: “We are aware that a formal code of conduct complaint has been lodged with the monitoring officer.
“It is right and proper that the standards process is allowed to reach its conclusion.
“We will not be commenting further at this time.”
