It's KNOT fair! Worcester councillor accosted for not wearing a TIE at County Hall

Labour Councillor Richard Udall says despite owning scores of ties he stopped wearing them around 10 years ago.

But his stance - which is far from unusual at Worcestershire County Council - seems to have got another politician into a right old knot.

Last month all 57 county councillors came together for the first time since May's local elections, which included 24 new arrivals at County Hall.

At the end of the full council meeting one of them approached Cllr Udall and asked him why he wasn't wearing a tie, leaving him bemused.

He says the remark reminded him of the farce surrounding Nicola Thorp, the 27-year-old London receptionist who was sent home from work after refusing to wear high heels.

"After the meeting this councillor, who I won't name to avoid embarrassment, approached me and said 'why aren't you wearing a tie'," he said.

"This is not the first time this has happened to me, normally I dismiss it by laughing, but is it right that we should be dictating a dress code?

"Why should anyone have to wear a tie - I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, but I do wonder whether we should feel the need for men to wear ties in order to be taken seriously?

"It reminded me of the Nicola Thorpe issue, and what would be said if this was suggested to a woman without high heels."

The stance has sparked a debate among councillors and the general public after Cllr Udall posted about it on Facebook.

Councillor Rob Adams, a former chairman of the county council, said: "I'll never go to a full council meeting without a tie - we are supposed to be leaders of society.

"If we don't show up with one, what does that say to the staff?

"But that said, I know times have moved on - I'd never tell someone else what to wear and I'm not against other people going without one."

Councillor Paul Tuthill, who always wears a tie, said: "Councillors should be allowed to wear what they want, but at full council meetings there has to be a degree of keeping up the standards - they should be smart."

Droitwich resident Val Humphries, writing on Cllr Udall's Facebook page, said: "As long as you are smart and clean it shouldn't matter what you wear - who decides what's appropriate anyway?"

Fellow Facebook poster Mary Campbell, from Badsey near Evesham, wrote: "I was once reminded to dress properly because the MP was coming to a meeting - guess how I responded?"