Parish council clerk hits back at keyboard warriors

A Telford parish council’s clerk has attacked ‘keyboard warriors’ after an ‘outpouring of hate’ over the last two years.

The ‘last straw’ for the top official at Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council happened after her council’s chairman was accused on Facebook of being on her phone at a Remembrance cenotaph.

The councillor has said she was ‘misrepresented’ while putting her phone away and turning it off in preparation for the service.

Now Jane Lees, the clerk, has hit out against ‘keyboard warriors’ on a post on Armistice Day.

“Dear Residents,” she writes on the parish council Facebook page. “Today marks the day that our nation remembers the fallen from every conflict.

“These men and women gave the ultimate sacrifice because they believed that their home and their neighbours were worth dying for.”

She continued: “Today I want to write about a different kind of warrior, one who is not caring of others or fighting for the greater good, the keyboard warrior.”

The clerk says that over the last couple of years she has “witnessed an outpouring of hate in certain Facebook pages, ones that purport to be of the “Community”.

“These people bully and harass others, in particular staff and certain councillors of Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council, people who have been elected to serve by this same community.”

She adds that it is “easy to regard this as unimportant, but it is crucial to remember victims of cyberbullying are at a significantly elevated risk for suicidal ideation and attempts.”

She continues that the keyboard warriors are “”happy to make the vilest allegations from the safety of their bedrooms, but I know from past personal experience, these same brave people lack the courage to accept an invitation to sit face to face with their subject to air their views.

“It is almost impossible to post a response to these allegations and hate speech as the administrators of community pages censor posts that do not suit their narrative, leaving the impression that their information is the truth.”

The clerk adds that it is “easy to join in this hate, but I would ask you to wait a moment before you do.

“Ask yourself, what is the source of this information?

“So please- today of all days, let us make this a community that heroes long to return home to.”

The parish council chairman, Councillor Eileen Callear, who is also the Mayor of Telford, said a photo taken on Remembrance Sunday as she was ‘putting my phone away and turning it off’- in preparation for the service.

“Let me be clear: the service had not yet begun. We were taking photos with various representatives, and someone captured an image before I’d finished switching my phone off.”

She added: “I’m tired of the bullying and harassment I face—often daily—from certain quarters.

“I also work very hard and do my upmost for our area- certainly more than the ones who sit back and criticise on Facebook anonymously (cowards). And it’s time this behaviour was called out for what it is.

“I remain proud of the service, of those who stood together to honour the fallen, and of the values we uphold—respect, dignity, and truth.”