BOLTON’S Liberal Democrats have hit back at fierce criticism of their social media presence.

At Wednesday’s full council meeting, a motion calling for a new charter to govern councillors’ use of sites like Twitter and Facebook was approved — amid claims the Lib Dems were responsible for the spread of ‘fake news’.

The party has now responded, saying social media is ‘at the forefront of raising awareness of decision making taking place at the council’.

A spokesman added: “All social media posts put out by the Bolton Liberal Democrats adhere to strict guidelines.

“This includes ensuring all posts can be corroborated as factual and we will always provide the source material for any post we put out.

“Personal attacks are never tolerated and any formal complaint is investigated thoroughly, although we have not received a single complaint of this nature since our sites were launched.

“Bolton Liberal Democrats will continue to act as a voice of Bolton residents looking for a more honest, open and transparent council.

“We will continue to ask questions we believe need to be asked and we will continue to hold the council and its elected members to account in the council chamber and outside of it, both online and off.”

The Lib Dems say they ‘wholeheartedly support’ the new code of conduct and hope it will address concerns over councillors ‘ who continue to spread lies and rumours about those who seek to hold them to account’.