A COUNCILLOR branded 'anti-muslim' for using the term “Muzzy” in a social media post has caused fresh controversy by appearing to endorse segregation, following a TV programme fronted by former equalities chief Trevor Phillips.

Independent councillor for Torfaen Mike Harris, who came under fire last year after sharing a Daily Mail story entitled "Hamas executes 11 Israeli informers” on his Facebook page to which he added the comment “Once a Muzzy!”, has again sparked outrage after participating in an online discussion about the Channel 4 programme featuring former equalities chief Trevor Phillips Things We Won’t Say About Race That Are True.

When the programme aired, Cllr Harris wrote on Facebook: “It’s absolutely correct that people want to live amongst their own, if possible. That’s preference. Not racism.”

Cllr Harris chairs Torfaen council’s safer communities overview and scrutiny committee, which seeks to promote safety in communities.

He has declined to comment on the latest post made on the Torfaen Confidential Facebook page.

But the advocacy group Hope Not Hate condemned the social media comment.

A spokesman said: “Cllr Harris has a record of making controversial comments.

“It fits in with what he said in the past. He has got an issue with integration and immigration.

“This appears to be the latest episode in his one line he’s got about integration.”

In 2012, the public services ombudsman’s office received complaints after comments made by Cllr Mike Harris provoked protest.

But it concluded it would not investigate the councillor, as there was no evidence of a breach of the code of conduct.

This was after Cllr Harris wrote on Facebook that he would rush an act through Parliament to “reclassify all immigrants as being illegal immigrants”.

Torfaen council said at the time that it could not take action until it received a formal complaint.

It also said all councillors were subject to a code of conduct.

Formal complaints that a councillor may have breached this code should be addressed to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, a council spokesman said.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales will normally only investigate when there is evidence that a serious breach may have been committed, it was also said. The council added that the Ombudsman had pointed out in the past that because of the right of freedom of speech, even if what is said or written is considered shocking or offensive by some or even many people, comments have a high level of protection under both the common law and Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998, and this is particularly relevant if comments are general and are not targeted at any particular person.

Legislation sets out that only when the Ombudsman has decided to formally investigate and report to the council can the matter come before the

council’s ethics and standards committee.

Muzzy is widely understood to mean Muslim but the Torfaen councillor said he had used the word in its proper meaning, as set out in the dictionary, when outrage broke out over his post last year, namely “unable to think clearly or confused”.

A council spokesman said regarding his latest post: “The council has not received any complaints about this matter.”