A COMMUNITY worker has apologised for sharing an online message which compared Muslim immigrants and asylum seekers to armed "invaders".
Clive Locke, a senior member of two community groups in Croydon, re-tweeted a post saying "Tick-Tock" alongside a picture of a bearded man pointing a handgun and the words: "It's not immigration. It's not asylum seeking. It's an INVASION."
Shuaib Yusaf, trustee of Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre, said the Twitter post was "deeply offensive".
Mr Locke told the Advertiser he had been "incredibly naive" and was trying to start a "debate".
The council has received a complaint about the post and has passed the matter to the police.
Mr Locke has held senior positions on three groups representing Croydon's diverse communities.
He is the former head of West Croydon Community Forum and is currently chairman of Broad Green Business Forum and vice-chairman of Croydon Communities Consortium, which received £5,000 of council funding in 2013.
Mr Locke, who posts on Twitter under the name DRAKEKNIGHT, re-tweeted the "invasion" image on August 23. It was originally posted by someone calling themselves My Great Britain.
He admitted sharing the message when approached by the Advertiser on Monday.
"You've caught me out. I don't know what to say. There's no malice in this whatsoever," he said.
"I will look back on what I tweeted. I'm not sure how that's come about. There's no way I am Islamophobic."
Asked why he posted the message, which has since been deleted, Mr Locke said: "I can't answer you. I'm not in any way racist or anything like that.
"I think the thought probably was that we need to question these things a little bit further.
"My thought was to try and open a debate on political issues in the area."
Mr Yusaf said: "Messages like this certainly do not promote intelligent debate and are deeply offensive.
"Croydon is home to a diverse range of ethnicities and religions all co-existing peacefully. A strong sense of community cohesion prevails and religious tensions are non-existent in spite of prevailing events in the Middle East.
"Postings such as this are offensive and inflammatory and not even remotely representative of the consensus of the community in Croydon."
Mr Lock said: "I work with Muslims day in, day out, with the good things I am trying to do with West Croydon. I wouldn't want to bring it down to this level. I love every culture.
"I'm not justifying it. I'm just trying to explain it. I've been incredibly naive. If I offended anyone I apologise unreservedly."
Asked whether he would continue to work for either of the groups he is involved in, Mr Locke said: "I suppose I'll have to consider [whether] to continue what I am doing."
He said he would contact the police voluntarily to explain what had happened.
