A video has surfaced from a full council meeting in which Councillor Philip Jackson, leader of North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), accuses Gi Grimsby News of having gone into “absolute conspiracy theory overdrive” in response to enquiries and articles about the removal of Cleethorpes’ hedge maze during peak bird breeding season.
In June 2024, Gi Grimsby News questioned Councillor Jackson and NELC about the timing of the maze’s removal and requested evidence confirming it was free of nests, the latter of which was not provided.
During this time, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) condemned the decision, stating it was “questionable that no nests were impacted by this work” and that “whilst the work may have been undertaken legally (if no nests were deemed to be present), its removal at this time of the year is highly unethical when we are facing a climate and nature emergency.”
In the video, recorded during a debate about implementing a new project management system, Councillor Jackson argued that it would be naive to believe public confidence in the council would improve with a new system when its actions were being undermined by “people out there on social media going into conspiracy theory overdrive all the time about what this council is doing.”
“That’s what’s actually undermining what this council does, not the fact that one or two projects overspend or go over time,” he added.
Councillor Jackson went on to call out Gi Grimsby News, stating that it had “gone into an absolute conspiracy theory overdrive” on the topic.
Notably, other media outlets also reported on the timing of the hedge maze removal, but Gi Grimsby News was the only one singled out during the full council meeting.
(Image: NELC)
