Southend Labour candidate has 'no regrets' over tweets
BBCA prospective Labour councillor says he has "no regrets" about old tweets which used offensive language.
Sonny Green, the candidate for Prittlewell ward in Southend, used a swear word last year to describe the then prime minister Theresa May.
Tweets containing sexist, racist and homophobic terms were republished on political website Guido Fawkes.
Mr Green said: "I don't regret [the tweets] but I do apologise to anyone that was offended."
The 24-year-old, who is also a rapper, said that some of the tweets were "a very long time ago".
He said: "In general, I don't regret anything in life, because we can make amends, and that's what I'm doing."
Mr Green said he was aiming to represent himself "in more positive light" since being selected as a council candidate.
He said he wanted to "show people you can be in trouble and come from a place where you don't have a lot of hope and you can change your life, turn that around and become a voice for your community".
Mr Green, who appeared in the BBC Scotland TV Drama River City, said his tweet about Mrs May "wasn't meant in a misogynistic way".
"It's language, and it depends on how much weight you put behind swear words," he added.
He said the "local Labour party have been very supportive" of him over the tweets, which have since been deleted.
Mr Green went on to say he "finds it bizarre" there were stories about his old tweets.
He said: "There are lots of serious issues we should be talking about and a lot more we can do to engage younger people in our community."
Laurie Burton, chair of Southend West Constituency Labour Party, said Mr Green now runs youth clubs, campaigns against knife crime and would bring "youth, enthusiasm and lived experience" to the "overwhelmingly middle-aged and middle class" Southend Council.
He added: "In the past he has said and done things he regrets, but he has apologised.
"When we speak to residents, they are interested in our plans to improve Southend, not some tweets sent by one candidate when he was in a very different place in his life."
