TWO long-serving Darlington Conservative councillors have apologised after learning that a facebook post they liked and shared was a hoax designed to encourage anti-Muslim sentiment.

Sadberge and Middleton St George councillor Doris Jones said she was shocked to hear that a post she shared on facebook today alleging that a uniformed soldier was refused service at a Tesco store because it offended Muslim customers was in fact a hoax.

At the time the post first emerged, Tesco confirmed that it was untrue and that it cited a false event happening in a store that doesn’t even exist.

The post first began circulating on facebook around six-years-ago and appears to have originated from a supporter of Britain First, a right-wing political organisation formed by former members of the British National Party that is frequently accused of using racist rhetoric and propaganda.

The Northern Echo:

The post was shared on Cllr Doris Jones's facebook page

After Cllr Jones shared the post this afternoon, it was liked by the Conservative leader of Darlington Borough Council, Heather Scott.

Both councillors said that they were unaware the post was a hoax and that there was no racial motivation for sharing it.

Cllr Jones said that she was opposed to the notion that Tesco could refuse to serve someone ‘no matter who they are’ and Cllr Scott said she was appalled when informed by The Northern Echo that the post was fake.

Cllr Jones said: “There is no way I could ever be accused of being racist, half my friends would cut me in half.

“Obviously I had no way of knowing that (it was a hoax) - at the time I believed it to be genuine.

“I have shared it because I felt sympathy for someone who couldn’t get served in the shop.”

She added: “If I had realised at the time it was a hoax, I would have deleted it, quite frankly, from the page.

“Sorry if I have offended anybody, I can assure you it was no intention of mine to do so.”

Cllr Jones said if the post came from ‘far right people making it up’ then it should not be allowed on facebook and she would never have supported it.

Cllr Scott, who liked the post on Cllr Jones's facebook timeline, said: “If it is a hoax, that is absolutely appalling, and this is the problem with facebook.

“Like Doris, I am horrified as well.”

Cllr Scott said that Darlington Council is an inclusive local authority and she did not like the notion that a soldier had been refused service in a shop, which is why she supported the post - believing it to be genuine.

She said it was liked by her private page and the incident had made her want to come off facebook.

One concerned reader who spotted the post on Cllr Jones’s page said: “Obviously not great to have such a veteran Councillor falling for and spreading blatant fake news like this.

“Never mind having the CEO of the Council liking it.”