‘Orchestrated campaign’ over Warwickshire special needs comments

While Mr Hammersley admitted his language was clumsy and apologised unreservedly for the offence caused, the report revealed he believed his words were misconstrued.

“With hindsight he says he would have been more careful with the words that he used, but that he was speaking ‘on the hoof’,” it said.

“He feels that he has been misrepresented as a large proportion of the complainants are quoting words that he did not say.”

Mr Hammersley told the investigator “the balloon went off” when TikTok videos were released, particularly one which mixed quotes and photographs from the meeting with historic scenes of asylums and institutions.

Complaints over his remark about going back “to fix the problem at source” did not “relate to the words used and have been fuelled probably by the social media and a particular TikTok video,” the investigator wrote.

He divulged he had received numerous emails of complaints since the TikTok video went live, some of which were “vile”.

Mr Morgan and Ms Golby also told the investigator they had received abusive emails following the publication of social media videos.