THE elected highways chief at Oxfordshire County Council has been defended by his boss after agreeing with a tweet that insulted cyclists.

In October, a formal complaint was made against Liam Walker, the cabinet member for highways delivery and operations, after he agreed with a sentiment of a tweet by another Twitter user which read: “Cyclists constantly w**king off the dutch [sic]. F**k off over there then.”

As Oxfordshire County Councillors met yesterday (November 3) Lib Dem councillor Tim Bearder asked if Conservative council leader Ian Hudspeth was 'content to have someone on your cabinet that is not a proponent of the active travel agenda' and if not, when he would replace him.

The Lib Dem said a further tweet by Liam Walker explaining his behaviour 'strongly implied' his personal opinions conflicted with his cabinet role because he admitted he 'spoke his mind'.

READ AGAIN: Complaint lodged against highways boss councillor's tweet

But Mr Hudspeth defended his colleague and said Mr Walker was a 'strong supporter of active travel' because he lived in his own division of Hanborough and Minster Lovell to 'make use of the nearby train station to reduce his car usage'.

He also said Mr Walker was 'often seen out riding in his division whilst also reporting potholes that could be a danger to fellow cyclists.'

The Tory leader said: "So obviously not only does he support active travel, but he does it too."

In a loaded section of his reply, Mr Hudspeth also said: "I think it’s important that all members have views as opposed to sitting on the fence or flip flopping around with different policy statements depending on which county you are discussing."

This referenced Mr Bearder's other council job as a Lib Dem borough councillor in Eastleigh, Hampshire.