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Tory councillor suspended over lewd comments to hunt protester Tory councillor suspended over lewd comments to hunt protester
(about 2 hours later)
A Conservative councillor has been suspended after a video emerged showing him making lewd comments to a hunt protester while hunting. A Conservative councillor has been suspended after making "inappropriate and offensive comments" to an anti-hunt protester.
West Norfolk Foxhounds master and huntsman Charles Carter has represented Saham Toney ward, on Breckland council, since 2011. A video streamed online shows a confrontation between West Norfolk Foxhounds master and huntsman Charles Carter and campaigner Linda Hoggard.
He was accosted by Linda Hoggard, who had been following the Middleton Hunt in North Yorkshire for several hours. During the recording, Mr Carter is seen to ask "can I take to you bed, please?"
Ms Hoggard streamed her encounter with Mr Carter on Facebook Live. The leader of Breckland Council in Norfolk confirmed his suspension. An investigation is under way.
'Very pretty' Mr Carter made the comments after an approach by activists during a meet of the Middleton Hunt in North Yorkshire.
She approached the riders, saying: "Excuse me, did you know fox hunting was banned?" Ms Hoggard said she had been taking wildlife photos before seeing the hunt and then following it for several hours.
Mr Carter first replied by asking the Ms Hoggard if she had damaged her car. In the video, Ms Hoggard approaches the riders and stops Mr Carter, saying: "Excuse me, did you know fox hunting was banned?"
She replied: "Never mind if I've damaged the car, you've damaged a fox. Mr Carter then removes his phone from his pocket and asks: "What is your name?"
"I'm telling you a question - hunting is banned, so why are you still hunting?" When Ms Hoggard does not respond, he tells her: "I'd quite like to shag you, actually."
She added: "It's banned, and you still get away with it." 'Out of order'
Mr Carter then removed his phone from his pocket and asked: "What is your name?" The activist reacts by threatening to tell her husband.
After Ms Hoggard did not give her name, Mr Carter told her: "I'd quite like to shag you actually." Mr Carter then says: "Can I take to you bed, please?" and tells her: "You're very pretty." Ms Hoggard replies: "So are foxes."
He then said: "Can I take to you bed please?" Mr Carter finally asks for her number before riding off with the rest of the hunt.
Smiling, he went on to say: "You're very pretty." Ms Hoggard told the BBC: "I've always disagreed with fox hunting even being a country person. I'm not an activist - the last hunt I followed was 15 years ago. I'm a housewife with children and they were hunting near me and I thought right I'm going to follow.
Mr Carter finally asked "Can I have your number please?" before riding off with the rest of the hunt. "I didn't know he was a councillor. I didn't even know him. I just went out and then confronted him. What he gave me was bang out of order."
Ms Hoggard later wrote on Facebook: "He wanted a reaction from me as he was taping me... I ain't that stupid... he's in the wrong, not me." The nature of the meeting is not known, however under the 2004 Hunting Act, foxes cannot longer be killed by dogs as part of a hunt.
Flush out
Under the 2004 Hunting Act, foxes can no longer be killed by dogs as part of a hunt.
One or two dogs can be used to "flush out" - remove from cover - a fox, which should then be shot.One or two dogs can be used to "flush out" - remove from cover - a fox, which should then be shot.
A full pack of dogs can be used to flush out a fox to be hunted by a bird of prey. Mr Carter has represented Saham Toney ward, on Breckland Council in West Norfolk, since 2011.
If flushing out goes wrong and a dog ends up killing a fox, any prosecution under the act must prove that the humans in charge intended this, rather than shooting or killing by the bird, to happen. In a statement a spokesman confirmed the council was aware of the video "in which one of its councillors made inappropriate and offensive comments".
The ban on fox hunting does not affect drag hunting, which started in the early 19th Century. Council leader William Nunn said: "I was appalled by the conduct of one of my Conservative councillors, who has clearly brought the party and the council into disrepute as a result of his behaviour.
It involves humans laying a scent - such as aniseed or a chemical mixed with oil and water - for hounds to chase, rather than following an animal.
Trail hunting, on the other hand, did not exist until the ban. It involves laying a fox's scent, usually its urine, for the dogs to follow.
The BBC has approached Mr Carter for comment.
Breckland council said statement: "Breckland council has this morning been made aware of a video of a hunt in Yorkshire, in which one of its councillors, Charles Carter, made inappropriate and offensive comments to a protester."
William Nunn, leader of Breckland council, said: "Having been made aware of the video this morning, I was appalled by the conduct of one of my Conservative councillors, who has clearly brought the party and the council into disrepute as a result of his behaviour.
"I immediately took action, and the individual concerned has been suspended from the Conservative Group at Breckland council, pending the outcome of a full investigation by the Mid Norfolk Conservative Association.""I immediately took action, and the individual concerned has been suspended from the Conservative Group at Breckland council, pending the outcome of a full investigation by the Mid Norfolk Conservative Association."
"Suspension is a neutral act, and, as such, it would be inappropriate at this stage to make any further comment ahead of the investigation outcome." The BBC has approached Mr Carter for comment.
By Patrick Evans, UGC and Social News HubBy Patrick Evans, UGC and Social News Hub