A veteran Frodsham town councillor is seeking legal advice after being removed from all working groups and committees for refusing to apologise a second time over a comment in which he compared the town council to Hitler.

Cllr Frank Pennington, who has served on the council for 39 years, has labelled the town council’s decision as ‘childish’ and has vowed he will not resign.

The long-running dispute began at a full meeting of Frodsham Town Council (FTC) in February, when Cllr Pennington said the council was ‘worse than the Second World War and Hitler’.

A member of the public complained about the comment, which they claimed was offensive and had brought the council into disrepute, at a subsequent full council meeting.

The matter was considered by the policy and process committee, where it was decided that Cllr Pennington had been in breach of the code of conduct, and the recommendation was brought to full council that Cllr Pennington should offer a full and unreserved apology for his comment.

Cllr Pennington was unable to attend the meeting, but wrote a letter to be read by the clerk in which he said he was sorry if the name of Hitler had offended anybody and explained that he had lived through the Second World War.

The council, however, felt that it did not constitute an acceptable apology and he was asked to apologise again at the council’s June meeting.

But Cllr Pennington maintained he had already apologised.

“I know more about this council than any councillor sitting here tonight,” he said. “I stand by everything I’ve ever said about it. It’s been the worst I’ve ever known.”

The matter was put to a vote and a majority – Cllrs Alan Oulton and Graham Bondi abstained while Cllr Mike Pusey voted against the proposal – decided he should be removed from any town council committees and working groups he had been involved with.

Cllr Pennington told the Chronicle he has consulted his lawyers and is determined to continue ‘speaking the truth’.

Council chairman Mark Warren said: “None of this takes away anything Cllr Pennington has contributed to FTC during his time in office, or prevents him contributing meaningfully at any stage in the future.

“I respect that Cllr Pennington is entitled to his own opinion about the governance of the council, and if he should wish to take the opportunity to retract the language he has used in expressing his opinion the decisions made are easily enough overturned.”