A Leicestershire county councillor fears opponents are "attempting to discredit" her after a fake social media account surfaced. Leader of the opposition on Leicestershire County Council Deborah Taylor branded the move a "dirty trick" and has referred the matter to Leicestershire Police. 

A Facebook profile bearing Cllr Taylor's face and name appeared on the social media site this morning (Friday 31 October). The Conservative councillor said it was not something she had created, labelling it a "fake account" in a message on X.



The 'fake account' has posted saying Deborah Taylor will be putting in a vote of no confidence (Photo: LDRS)

One post was published before the account disappeared from Facebook a short time later, suggesting it had been deleted or locked. The post stated that the author, seemingly posing as Cllr Taylor, would be "putting in a vote of no confidence" against a number of Reform and Labour members at "the next council meeting". 

The post added: "It's time I was made leader of the county council." 

The profile also listed "leader of the council" in the job section. Cllr Taylor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she believes it is "highly likely" that the account was set up by a "political opponent". 

She added: "This is a clear example of attempting to discredit myself and the Conservative Group in Leicestershire. Dirty tricks will never succeed." 

A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said: "We can confirm earlier today (Friday 31 October) we have received an allegation relating to postings made on a social media account. An appointment has been made to speak to the complainant to obtain further details." 

A Leicestershire County Council spokeswoman said the authority considered this to be a party political matter and therefore not something on which it would comment.