COUNCILLORS should ‘forgive and move on’ after a colleague shared ‘grossly offensive’ Facebook posts, according to Oxford City Council’s leader.

Following an investigation, Ben Lloyd-Shogbesan was found not to be acting as a councillor when he shared posts which claimed cancer was a ‘business’ and compared Israel to Nazi Germany.

He resigned the Labour Party whip after the posts came to light in May and he remains an independent councillor.

His former group leader Susan Brown said it was time for councillors to find it within themselves to forgive him because he had apologised and ‘had promised to learn from [his] mistakes’.

She was responding to a motion from independent councillor Mick Haines, who urged Mr Lloyd-Shogbesan to resign following the investigation. Mr Haines’ wife died from cancer last year.

Ms Brown said she ‘shared the dismay’ felt by Mr Haines when the posts were uncovered.

But an investigation found the council’s code of conduct had not been breached.

Mr Haines’ motion was backed by Lib Dem councillor Paul Harris, who said the comments on cancer were an ‘intolerable insult’ to Oxford scientists working to cure the disease.

Mr Harris said he had received life-saving surgery for cancer.

Mr Haines’ motion was lost, with seven councillors supporting it. Another 25 were opposed and five councillors abstained.