What a bunch of Twitters!

FIVE councillors in Cornwall have been criticised as "a bunch of teenagers" after they shared "inappropriate" electronic messages between them during an important council debate.

During the meeting – on councillors' allowances and housing – the five men used their mobile phones to send or receive messages to each other using the Internet networking website, Twitter.

The self-proclaimed "Twitter Gang" includes Lib-Dem councillors Jeremy Rowe, Rob Nolan and Alex Folkes with Conservative colleague Steve Double and Independent Andrew Wallis.

Messages included ridiculing the chairman of the meeting, Pat Harvey, for her alleged lack of technological know-how, suggesting one fellow councillor was asleep, while another claimed there was a 'high level of sexual innuendo in the chamber today'.

Susie Squire, political director at the Taxpayers Alliance, said the group, who each receive a basic allowance of £12,000 a year, was abusing taxpayer's money.

She said: "This is incredible childish, inappropriate behaviour and I think taxpayers will be extremely worried that these people who are paid out of the public purse are not paying attention to a serious debate – they can't be if they are distracting themselves by sending ridiculous messages.

"It's absolutely staggering that they should be behaving like a bunch of teenagers. I think it's disgraceful."

Members of the public are able to read the up-dated messages posted on the website, known as "tweets".

Mrs Harvey, who had asked for mobile phones to be turned off during Tuesday's meeting at Truro's County Hall, was unavailable to comment.

Coun John Dyer, who served as vice- chairman at the council meeting of the corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee, said he would like to see electronic devices banned from the chamber. He said: "In my experience if Mr Public is interested in a particular agenda item then Mr Public makes the effort to attend the meeting. I believe messing around with electronic devices is a distraction and they should be banned."

The Twitter Gang defended their actions and said they were improving the democratic process because the public could read what was happening in the council chamber.

Coun Rowe said: "We were in a threehour meeting about councillors' allowances, which we all knew was a foregone conclusion because the Lib-Dems and Tories were in agreement right from the start. All the debate consisted of was councillor after councillor churning out what the previous speaker had just said. In the past I've seen councillors nodding off or doing the crossword but that never gets reported in the press. At least it proves we were all awake."

Coun Alex Folkes, said: "Twittering does not stop people from following a debate. If it did then it should be banned but I don't believe it does. I'm not going to pretend I haven't sent the odd silly tweet but it can be a valuable tool during a debate if someone sends me a relevant question that needs to be asked. Twittering is a public statement and I would not tweet anything I wasn't prepared to say during a debate."

Coun Double denied that the tweeting undermined the seriousness of the debate or was disrespectful to Mrs Harvey.

He said: "I'd be amazed if Pat Harvey was offended by what was said. She is a colourful character who understands the bigger picture. I can fully understand why some people might think we were not concentrating on the debate but that was not the case."

Coun Wallis, said: "Tweeting during a debate does not impair my ability to follow what's going properly or to make a decision. It's about keeping people outside the chamber informed about what's going on inside – in particular young people who we have to get involved in politics."

Last night, Coun Nolan's Twitter status read: "At Planning (meeting) in St Austell. Much talk amongst Cllrs about pros and cons of Twittering at meetings. Opinion dictated by age, rather than party".

Coun Nolan, who has less than 50 "followers", told the WMN: "Twitter is a great way to reach out to younger people and get them involved in local government, and I will continue to do it where appropriate."

Elected members are responsible for the communications they send out. All members are required to abide by the council's code of conduct and anyone who is considered to be in breach of this code can be reported to the council's standards committee.

A spokesman for the council said steps were currently being taken to develop a social media policy, which covers the use of social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

She said: "The draft policy recognises the potential of using these social networking tools for communicating and engaging with members of the public, but also highlights the importance of regulating the use of such sites to ensure that it does not adversely affect the reputation of the council."

This is not the first time councillors in the Westcountry have found themselves in hot water over Twitter. Councillors and staff at Plymouth City Council were recently banned from using Twitter after complaints abusive and inappropriate language were being used.

Using the Twitter website is fast becoming something of a global phenomenon. Users have just 140 characters, including spaces, for each message, making each addition short and sweet.

Mobile phones, lap tops and computers can be used to tap out the "tweets" and see what other people, called "followers", are doing. Celebrity "tweeters" include TV presenters Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross, Hollywood actress Demi Moore and even US president Barak Obama.