COUNCILLOR Joshua Beynon's recent election as deputy mayor of Pembroke Dock was met with opposition by outgoing mayor George Manning.

At Pembroke Dock's annual town council meeting, Cllr Manning interrupted the official vote for the new deputy mayor, saying he felt Joshua Beynon's actions at last year's annual meeting deemed him an unsuitable candidate, and proposed Councillor Gordon Goff as deputy mayor instead.

Cllr Manning said: “I would like to ask Cllr Beynon; when he was first elected into council he was not in support necessary of the appointment of mayor and deputy mayor.

“And secondly, at our last AGM he did not accept the alternative views to the BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement, resulting in him leaving the meeting and saying he was disgusted with the council; what has changed there?

“In that case I do not think he’s a suitable candidate, and I propose Cllr Gordon Goff as deputy mayor.”

Cllr Beynon said, in reply to the first point, he was more in favour of an action plan for the council, echoing previous suggestions made by Cllr Stephen O’Connor.

On the BLM matter, Cllr Beynon said he could definitely agree or disagree with members of the council over issues raised in council meetings, but stressed: “What I don’t like is people who disagree on matters of equality, I made that very clear a year ago,” adding: “I have not have any contact with Cllr Manning in the year since to raise any of these issues or concerns. He's chosen tonight to raise them which I think shows testament to his character and who he really is."

Deputy mayor Joshua Beynon, who had been proposed by Cllr Jonathan George, was then officially voted in by the majority of councillors, Cllr Manning's proposal falling.

Reflecting on his time as mayor of Pembroke Dock in the last year George Manning said his thoughts go out to all those who have lost loved ones in the pandemic.

The new mayor of Pembroke Dock is Terry Judkins.