TOMMY WOODWARD asked a question when his comments about the suicide of a former soldier gained national media attention.

He wanted to know whether the spotlight was being shone on him because of him campaigning for animal rights. The straight answer is no, that is not what attracted their interest.

Councillor Woodward could campaign until the cows come home – and long after they were tucked up in bed – without troubling the headlines.

No. The reason the story hit the headlines is that he described the suicide of game dealer Alan Ellis as “the best use of a gun I can think of”.

He then added: “We would all rather live in a world where no one kills for fun. However, if you choose to own a gun and kill for pleasure, then it’s best to kill yourself.”

The fact that he represents the public on Ryedale District Council and Pickering Town Council helped to catapult Coun Woodward onto the national stage.

A deluge of complaints to the district council and calls for him to go fell on deaf ears. He made it clear that he has no intention of resigning.

So should he stay, or should he go now? When the Clash asked the same question a few years ago, they added: “If I go there will be trouble, and if I stay it will be double.”

There has been trouble, and a half-hearted apology from Coun Woodward – a member of the district council Liberal group, a separate party from the Liberal Democrats.

He said: “I deeply regret if I have added to the grief and sorrow of the widow, family and friends.” Surely, the word “if” has no business in that sentence.

Added to that, he points to the posting he made being on a Hunt Saboteurs Association Facebook page. The idea that the posting was anything other than public declaration is at best naive.

And the consequences? Apparently for Coun Woodward, in terms of being a councillor, the answer is none. The district council’s code of (mis) conduct offers no sanction.

A resolution of censure over Coun Woodward’s words served to distance the majority of members from his comments, but that’s all. He stays a councillor.

A call for leader of the Liberals, Councillor John Clark, to take action, fell on another pair of deaf ears. Instead, Coun Clark attacked the “sentence” for being delivered without an investigation.

Just what kind of investigation was required when the offending comments are in black and white.

The smokescreen deployed by Coun Clark failed to cover up the reality that as the leader of the Liberal group he had not one word of criticism of the comments of his colleague. Some may regard this as standing by your man – others that it makes Coun Clark guilty by association.

And Coun Woodward has made it clear he’s going nowhere – something on which we might all agree.