Editor threatens to sue Town Council over offensive Facebook posts
Martin Shipton
A newspaper editor is threatening to sue a town council after its clerk posted grossly offensive comments about him on the authority’s official Facebook page and described him as “the saddest man alive”.
Tom Sinclair edits The Pembrokeshire Herald, which in recent months has published a succession of articles relating largely to personality clashes between the clerk to Neyland Town Council, Libby Matthews, and some of its present and former councillors.
Mr Sinclair is claiming that since the articles were published, he has become the subject of a vilification campaign.
In a pre-action letter to the council, he states: “On 8 October 2025, you published on your official Facebook page (still live at the date of this letter) a statement accusing me and The Pembrokeshire Herald of:
“targeted… bullying articles” “relentless, belligerent and targeted reporting”
causing distress deliberately. The statement was presented as fact, not opinion, without evidence and without offering any right of reply.
“The clear defamatory meaning is that: I am a malicious, unethical and bullying journalist who abuses press freedom to harass a public official
“This meaning is false and gravely damaging to my professional reputation.
The clear defamatory meaning is that I am a malicious, unethical and bullying journalist who abuses press freedom to harass a public official.
This meaning is false and gravely damaging to my professional reputation.
“Serious harm is clearly established: the post has been viewed, commented on and shared thousands of times in a small community.
“A comment labelling me a ‘nonce’ remained visible beneath your statement for eight weeks. This comment was removed only at 13:35 on 7 December 2025, while your Clerk was actively commenting on Herald coverage, demonstrating actual knowledge. Similar defamatory slurs have now appeared as public graffiti in Milford Haven.
”On 6 December 2025, your Clerk posted publicly: ‘Hey guess what, Tom… FUCK YOU too – saddest man alive!”.
“This is a vindictive personal attack by your Proper Officer in her public capacity. The reputational damage and distress caused are substantial and ongoing.
“As a working journalist and editor of a regional news organisation, my professional reputation is a core asset of my livelihood. Trust, credibility and integrity are fundamental requirements of my role. Allegations that I engage in bullying, malicious reporting or unethical conduct strike directly at the foundation of my profession.
“False statements made by a public authority about a journalist have a heightened impact because:
they undermine confidence in my reporting;
they impair my ability to carry out legitimate scrutiny of local government;
they damage my standing with sources, readers and stakeholders;
they create a chilling effect on press freedom;
they risk long-term reputational harm within a small community where the paper is based.
“Damage to a journalist’s reputation is particularly serious because it carries professional, commercial and personal consequences. The Council’s public statement has materially injured my reputation, and the subsequent abusive conduct by the Clerk has aggravated that harm significantly.
“Damages are significantly aggravated by:
publication by a public authority using the weight of its office
failure to engage with or remedy my complaint
reckless failure to moderate serious defamatory abuse
actual knowledge of the ‘nonce’ comment
the Clerk’s hostile and abusive new public post attacking me by name
leaving the original statement online for two months
allowing individuals connected to the Clerk to disparage me under the official post
“Your continuing conduct increases both harm and liability. “
Mr Sinclair concludes by stating: “To avoid immediate court proceedings, I require the following within 14 days:
1. £50,000 in damages (including aggravated damages)
2. Immediate removal of the 8 October 2025 post in full
3. Publication of an agreed apology on your Facebook page and website for a minimum of 28 days
4. A written undertaking never to repeat the allegations and to properly moderate defamatory comments on official channels
5. Payment of my reasonable legal costs.”
The clerk has also posted a message to present and former councillors about complaint hearings they are facing in the New Year. She tells them: “Fuck you!”
We asked Ms Matthews to comment, but she did not do so.
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The council sounds to be incompetent if it permits the clerk to use its Facebook page for personal abuse and foul language. Aside from suing the council he ought to sue her personally for substantial damages.
True, but as the letter points out, the Facebook page is linked to and supported by the council. I’d be surprised if this didn’t fall foul of their social media policy. Even if the allegations against him are justified, they’ve not gone about addressing it the right way. I don’t think people appreciate how damaging the ‘n***e’ label is, either. How that has landed as a common slur is a mystery. It not only seriously harms the reputation of the individual it is aimed at, but also undermines the seriousness of the hideous crime to which it refers. It’s use… Read more »
Local government officers need, as an absolute priority, to be discreet, cautious and measured at all times in anything and everything that they say – even if they’re goaded by anyone in the wider public.
If they can’t manage to do that, they shouldn’t be in their job.
Agreed, in fact I would go further and suggest that she should be suspended pending an investigation into her behaviour.
Agreed but it’s a bit thin skinned on the part of the journalist.
Such language posted on an official communication channel by an employee of a public body, a corporate entity, or a other organisation, would usually result in immediate sack for gross misconduct.
There may be more to this than meets the eye. When a council clerk gets all abusive to the press it’s usually motivated by a dissatisfaction of what a journalist has previously uncovered.