Politics

John Loftus ‘no longer in Anti-Austerity Alliance,’ says Murphy

Limerick councillor sent ‘unacceptable threats’ to local activist over Facebook

Paul Murphy TD says Cllr Loftus’s behaviour was unacceptable and he is no longer a member of the Anti Austerity Alliance. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
Paul Murphy TD says Cllr Loftus’s behaviour was unacceptable and he is no longer a member of the Anti Austerity Alliance. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
Sarah Bardon
Thu Aug 27 2015 - 16:30

A councillor who sent a threatening message to a local activist is no longer a member of the Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA), TD Paul Murphy has said.

The Limerick branch of the party had asked Cllr John Loftus to resign his seat as a member of Limerick City and Council Limerick City.

This followed a private Facebook message he sent to an activist called Greg Doran last Sunday.

Cllr John Loftus described the abusive message he sent to an activist during the week as a “moment of madness”
Cllr John Loftus described the abusive message he sent to an activist during the week as a “moment of madness”

In the message, the councillor said: “I tried to be nice. The next time I see you I’lll [SIC]cut your f**kin throat. Insult me & you are dead. See you Monday.”

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Paul Murphy said the party had asked him to stand down and he refused.

However, the TD added: “He made really unacceptable threats to someone over social media.

“That is completely unacceptable and completely wrong behaviour. I understand he was asked to resign his seat and he didn’t resign.

“He is no longer considered a member of the Anti-Austerity Alliance.”

On Tuesday, Cllr Loftus described the message as a “moment of madness” insisting he would “never hurt anybody in my life”.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Limerick branch of the AAA said Cllr Loftus’s behaviour had been “a catastrophic misjudgement” for a public representative which it further claimed “brings the AAA and the council into disrepute”.