City councillor makes 'full apology' for golliwog post
Sally Button makes "full apology" after golliwog Facebook post - Credit: Archant
A Labour councillor being investigated over a social media post relating to a golliwog has said she is "truly sorry".
Sally Button, who represents the Bowthorpe ward, shared a photograph on Facebook in 2017 which included the character once used as the brand logo for Robertson's jams which is now widely considered a racist caricature.
The caption on the picture said: "I asked for a tattoo of the bloke from The Jam. This doesn't look like Paul Weller to me."
Ms Button's post - featuring two crying laughing emojis - was reported by the Greens to the council's monitoring officer on Friday.
Attempts were made to contact Ms Button over the weekend.
On Monday, she said: “I would like to make a full apology for my response to this Facebook post.
"I can see in hindsight that the post is offensive, I should not have responded and for that, I am truly sorry.
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"I abhor racism and will continue to fight against it in all forms”
The post was reported to City Hall's monitoring officer, who stated it was not a matter for them to deal with, passing the complaint onto the Labour group.
The councillor had been due to be appointed to the new Norwich City Council cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday, May 25.
The appointment had been put on hold over the weekend while Labour investigated the complaint "as a matter of urgency".
It is understood she was to be named cabinet member with responsibility for social inclusion - which includes championing equality and diversity.
The golliwog was a fictional character created by author Florence Kate Upton in 1873, appearing as a type of ragdoll.
The caricature came to be used for commercial purposes - including on Robertson's jams and marmalades, until it was dropped in 2002.
The image is widely considered to be an example of racist stereotyping.
