A parish magazine is facing a backlash after publishing a cartoon about a woman and a priest joking about the murder of an MP.
Residents reacted with fury over the 'joke' cartoon published in Instow Parish News - a parish magazine covering the North Devon village and nearby Westleigh and West Yelland.
The cartoon features an elderly woman giving a confession to a priest, saying: 'Bless me, father, for I have sinned. Last night I killed a politician...'
The priest responds: 'My daughter, I'm here to listen to your sins, not your community service work.'
The carton was published in the magazine's August edition, two months before the killing of MP Sir David Amess.
The Tory politician was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery held in a church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex earlier this month.
The cartoon has since been removed from the online edition of the publication, after a backlash from residents who wrote in to the publication saying it was in 'bad taste'.
And now one councillor from the area now called for an end of 'demonising our MPs' in the wake of Sir David's death.
Residents reacted with fury over the 'joke' cartoon published in Instow Parish News - a parish magazine covering the North Devon village and nearby Westleigh and West Yelland
The row over the carton began after it was first published in the Instow Parish News magazine in August.
A number of residents wrote into the magazine, which is published in print and online, to complain about the joke, including the local Bishop Revd. Brenda Jacobs.
One resident, John Collins, wrote in a letter, published in September's version of the magazine: 'Unfortunately a joke - which this clearly was - can sometimes touch a raw nerve.
'Politicians are quite often the butt of our satire for many reasons, but they nevertheless put themselves forward for public service, and in the main they deserve our respect, if not our support.
'A democracy, like ours, is not something to be taken for granted; large swathes of the population do not live in one.
The carton was published in Instow Parish News (pictured: The latest edition) - a parish magazine covering the North Devon village and nearby Westleigh and West Yelland
'Moreover, throughout history politicians of all persuasions have sometimes been killed simply for what they stand for. It is not a laughing matter.'
Councillor
