"It is not appropriate that the phrase 'Wuhan Flu' is being thrown around".

These are the words of liberal democrat councillor, Michael Bound, who has responded to the Twitter spat, which flared up after the town's deputy mayor referred to Covid-19 as the "Wuhan Flu".

In response to an article where World Health Organisation (WHO) promoted a malaria drug as the 'best coronavirus treatment available' on April 3, Cllr Onnalee Cubitt expressed her suspicion of WHO, and referred to the virus as "Wuhan Flu".

The deputy mayor replied: "I agree. WHO have lied and dissembled at every turn.

"These Wuhan Flu deaths lie at the feet of WHO and China.

"I don't believe a word they say.

"I strongly believe we should have been wearing homemade masks much earlier.

"The reason why it spread on ships was because it is airborne".

Cllr Michael Bound told the Gazette: "She needs to put her thinking hat on before she tweets.

"Her words are offensive to the Chinese community.

"It is not appropriate that this phrase is being thrown around.

"It is not a good look for someone who could be our future mayor.

"I can understand why the Chinese community would be offended by these remarks."

The cllr also said that there needs to be "more of an investigation" into how this virus first originated.

"There is unconfirmed information out and about and there needs to be more concrete evidence of how the virus came about," he added.