IT WAS supposed to be a joke, but colleagues in a politically correct town hall failed to see the funny side when a Tory councillor suggested that nowadays Noah would have been unable to insist on taking only animals of the opposite sex in his Ark.

David Clutterbuck, 72, is facing calls to be sent on “compulsory equality training” after his quip was added to a group e-mail about the bureaucratic obstacles Noah would have to overcome in the modern world.

The message stated that before he set sail Noah would have to obtain planning permission, abide by building regulations, commission an environmental impact study, install a fire sprinkler system and seek guidance from the RSPCA.

In reply to his Tory colleague, Anne Filer, who sent the e-mail, Mr Clutterbuck joked: “I imagine now it would be illegal to only have animals of the opposite sex!” And so it came to pass that the e-mail, with Mr Clutterbuck’s message and other comments attached, went back to all the members of Liberal Democrat-run Bournemouth Borough Council, who had been included in the original message.

The outraged councillors demanded that Mr Clutterbuck apologise and re-educate himself in equality. Mike Carlisle said: “The comment even in fun is at best childish and at worst shows that certain local Conservatives are locked into the distant past.

“I urge if we are truly going to embrace diversity all members should have compulsory equality training. I would urge those enlightened Conservative councillors, and I know there are some, to challenge Councillor Clutterbuck on his attitudes to minority communities.”

Claire Smith, another Liberal Democrat, said: “It goes against the recent motion in full council to remind us all to be inclusive. Can we expect an apology and an assurance that we will not be copied in on these tedious and frankly offensive remarks? “The council e-mail service is not the place for such bigoted remarks and I am shocked that the one place I always seem to hear such disgusting talk is at the town hall and from councillors.

“And before I get an irate e-mail saying about freedom of speech, this is a work-related e-mail service and therefore I also have rights not to have to read unrelated dirt.”

Richard Smith, leader of Bournemouth Borough Council, said: “I think it is appropriate for Councillor Clutterbuck to recognise that he has caused offence to a minority group of people and he should apologise to them. I also think it would be a good idea for him to go on a course of equality training, although I don’t think it should be compulsory.”

But Mr Clutterbuck, who has been a councillor for 19 years, was unrepentant yesterday. He said that he had found the original e-mail amusing and merely replied in a similar tone.

“I was merely stating that another problem Noah would have come across today was having all animals of the same sex. The animals went two by two for obvious reasons, but to appease the equality people he would have had to have some gay animals on board.

“It wasn’t aimed at homosexuals at all and it wasn’t meant to be offensive. It was done as a joke and I haven’t done anything wrong.

“I am not going to apologise or go for retraining, it is an absolute nonsense.

“This kind of political correctness is crazy and is completely and utterly beyond me.

“I have got more experience in my little finger than many of these people running our town hall. They are little people who sit in a little conclave at the town hall and have no experience of life, and they tell us what to do.”

Mr Clutterbuck insisted that he was not homophobic and that he got on well with gay people, including town hall colleagues.

He said: “I’m always pleasant to them. They have as much right to be a councillor than anyone else. Just as long as they don’t ask me to join in and it’s not compulsory.”

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