A Green Party councillor in Lewisham has been cleared of breaching the council's code of conduct after she referred to David Lammy and Priti Patel as 'coconuts' on social media platform X. The investigation, upheld by Lewisham Council's Standards Sub-Committee on July 20, 2026, found that Cllr Hau-Yu Tam's comments were political in nature and protected under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Complaint and Investigation
The complaint was filed in April 2025 by the then-Labour Mayor of Lewisham, Brenda Dacres, who accused Cllr Tam of reposting 'anti-Semitic material' and making a 'racist' remark. Dacres claimed Cllr Tam had shared 'abhorrent and unlawful material' that constituted 'clear, extensive and serious breaches of the Code'.
Independent investigator Kirsty Cole of Bevan Brittan concluded that while the 'coconuts' comment was offensive and insulting, it was not racist in legal terms. Cole noted that the comment was 'clearly political in nature' and not a personalised attack, referencing a 2009 Appeals Tribunal Decision. She added that had the comment been made in the council chamber to another councillor, it would 'undoubtedly' have been a code breach.
Context of the 'Coconuts' Remark
On March 20, 2025, Cllr Tam posted under a tweet from Mish Rahman: 'It’s reminiscent of Priti Patel admitting her family wouldn’t get in under her own immigration rules, but somehow even more callous. These coconuts.' The post referenced a Telegraph headline about David Lammy claiming benefits. Cllr Tam later deleted the comment and apologised, stating she was 'not going after the colour of their skin, but rather their mentality'.
During a Deputy Prime Minister's Questions session on July 8, 2026, Lammy criticised the tweet, saying 'The Greens could start a healing process by stopping such racist language'.
Retweets on Zionism and Israel
The investigation also examined retweets from March 2025 stating 'Zionism is pure evil and must be abolished' and 'Zionism is undoubtedly, unquestionably the Nazism of our time'. Cole concluded these were criticisms of Zionism as a political ideology, not expressions of hatred for Jewish people. She cited case law: 'hostility or prejudice against Jewish people would constitute anti-Semitism, but criticism of the State of Israel would not constitute anti-Semitism as it falls within the protection of Article 10.'
Regarding a retweet about former Labour MP Dan Norris and 'Israel lobbyists', the investigation found no breach of conduct, as Cllr Tam did not fail to promote equality or treat people with respect.
Committee Decision and Reaction
The Standards Sub-Committee, chaired by Cllr Briony Edwards, found that the anti-Zionist tweets were 'legitimate political and ideological commentary' but deemed the 'coconuts' remark 'more problematic'. Edwards expressed disappointment, stating the behaviour 'fell below the standard that we would expect of councillors at Lewisham'. She advised Cllr Tam to 'carefully consider the comments that she makes in public or on social media platforms'.
Posting on Instagram on July 21, Cllr Tam thanked supporters, saying 'the harm to my health and wellbeing has been enormous'. She added that the investigation was 'deliberate' and likened it to 'Andy Burnham's unscrupulous attempt to appear more human on Gaza than Starmer'. She now looks forward to 'carrying on delivering for our communities'.
