Keith Girling posted the doctored image the day before the PM made the slur in the Commons
A Tory deputy council leader is being investigated for posting a fake picture of Sir Keir Starmer sitting next to Jimmy Savile in the House of Commons.
The photoshopped image shows Savile smoking a huge cigar while reclining on the Commons’ green benches next to the Labour leader.
Keith Girling, deputy leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, shared the snap the day before Boris Johnson accused Starmer of failing to prosecute Savile while he was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Starmer was DPP when allegations were first passed to the Crown Prosecution Service about Savile, but there is no evidence to suggest he had any direct involvement in the failure to prosecute the sex offender.
Read more: Did Keir Starmer hinder the Jimmy Saville investigation?
Under the badly edited image, which was originally posted on January 27, the caption read: “Double Standards Starmer.”
Girling shared the image on his personal Facebook page at 11.12am on January 30 – the day before the PM used the same slur against Starmer.
Johnson was branded a “disgrace” for accusing Starmer of “using his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while he was head of the CPS in 2009.
The row boiled over on Monday when a hate mob hurled abuse at Starmer outside Parliament – branding him a “traitor” and accusing him of “protecting paedophiles”.
Girling, who chairs Nottinghamshire County Council’s economic development committee, is now facing a misconduct probe.
The 63-year-old, who represents the Castle ward, has since deleted the image but has refused to apologise for sharing it, saying he “didn’t care really”.
“It’s a vexatious complaint from a party that doesn’t like the fact I’m exposing what they are saying in the by-election, it’s just their way of trying to keep me quiet really — I’ve not breached any rules,” he said.
“I posted it [the photoshopped image] well before Boris Johnson made his comments, I didn’t create the post I just shared it.”
Asked what the point was in sharing it, Girling said: “To show him [Sir Keir] to be a hypocrite with the things he’s been doing.
“He was head of the department so of course he had something to do with it [Savile escaping justice], he was paid a really good wage to do what he was doing and to say ‘I’m in charge but didn’t know what was going on’ — it’s hypocrisy.
“I’ve not breached any rules and I’m allowed to share things — I don’t care really.”
The Independent Alliance at Nottinghamshire County Council has now filed a complaint and asked standards bosses at the authority to investigate whether Girling broke the councillor code of conduct.
Leader of the alliance Jason Zadrozny said: “Councillors are meant to be beyond reproach and I am appalled that councillor Girling has shared this vile, photoshopped image.
“Traditional Conservatives have been appalled at Boris Johnson trying to link serial sex offender, the late Jimmy Savile with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer MP.
“For such a senior councillor to do something similar in such a juvenile manner in an attempt to score political points is as offensive as it is vile.”
Zadrozny went on to say that Girling’s behaviour “is as bad as Boris Johnson’s attempts to smear a political opponent”.
A Nottinghamshire County Council has launched an investigation into Girling’s Facebook post.
A spokesman for Newark and Sherwood District Council added: “All elected members are required to comply with a code of conduct and this extends to their use of social media.
“Complaints about members’ conduct are referred to the council’s monitoring officer for further consideration.”
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- Johnson’s Jimmy Savile comments were ‘perfectly reasonable’, says Minister
