Essex County Council paid internet prankster Simon Harris £500k

A council has defended its decision to pay a blogger and internet prankster almost £500,000.

Simon Harris received the money between 2020 and 2023 primarily to run an Essex County Council Facebook page supporting people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The local authority said the cash also paid other people doing similar “activity and campaigning” but went via him for “expediency”.

Mr Harris told the BBC the page reached millions of people during the pandemic.

Mike Mackrory, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader at the county council, said the payments were a “matter of concern”.

The Facebook group in question was called Essex Coronavirus Action which was later renamed Essex Is United.

It was set up to reach residents during the pandemic, facilitate “behaviour change” and assist the public health response to the crisis.

Mr Harris, who rose to prominence by starting the satirical fake news website Southend News Network, said the page mobilised 5,000 volunteers to support coronavirus shielding efforts and the vaccination programme.

He said the funding went towards a team of professional community managers and other Facebook page administrators and moderators.

ECC said the Facebook page was “vital in getting to the heart of communities” during the height of the pandemic.

The council’s payment data showed Mr Harris received £493,000 in 34 tranches from the public health budget between March 2020 and April 2023, and the highest single payment was £100,000 in August 2021.

A source at the local authority said the work was not put out to tender owing to the urgency of the pandemic.

Mr Harris, who lives near Southend-on-Sea, also runs a parenting blog but previously attracted attention by targeting Conservative politicians and policies on the internet.

Following a backlash over the payments to Mr Harris, Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson told his followers on X: “Oh dear, is this the same Simon Harris who has been trolling me on social media for the past year? Sending my best wishes to Simon at this difficult time.”

Mr Harris said he had been vilified on social media and has deleted his accounts across multiple platforms.

He said he made a crime report to Essex Police in July 2023 about allegations made against him, and had shared material with the force that had “come to light in the last week”.

The BBC contacted the force for comment.

Mr Harris said: “During the height of the pandemic the [Facebook page] generated between three million and five million impressions per month.

“The nature of the work meant that during the most serious stages of the pandemic, I was providing services seven days per week, and at a variety of times of the day and night – as were the team of community managers we had supporting the project.”

He said he had been advised not to specify the amounts of money disbursed to other people and declined to say how many others were paid.

Mr Mackrory said he had asked council officers questions about the payments and added: “I do wonder why it was necessary to go to this individual when we do have a pretty high-powered communications team at ECC itself.”

In a statement, the council said: “It is important to note the payments covered more than just social media content, and included activity to directly support others doing similar work across the county.

“ECC had an established relationship with Simon Harris as a contractor, providing digital consultancy and delivery via social media channels for the council’s work to support community resilience, prior to the pandemic.

“During the pandemic, and given the nature of the national emergency which the council was faced with, that contractor relationship was utilised to use social media – principally through the Essex Coronavirus Action (ECVA) channel – to engage with communities and share valuable information relating to restrictions, provide support to vulnerable individuals, volunteering opportunities and share information on the various restrictions which were in place at various times.”