THE MAGISTRATE who called a pair of teenagers who desecrated Blackburn Cathedral ‘absolute scum' has been ‘relieved of his duties’ as chairman of the bench.

Austin Molloy says his treatment was out of order because the boys ‘needed to be told off’.

Mr Molloy, a company director with 18 years’ experience on the magistrates bench, has been supported by the leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council and the Mayor of Darwen.

They said the ‘pathetic decision’ to discipline Mr Moll-oy was driven by political correctness.

Mr Molloy said he discovered he had been relieved of the chairman role when he attended Blackburn Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

And he is unsure whether he will be allowed to resume his position. His next shift is on Thursday.

Court officials told him he had ‘caused some embarrassment’ with his comments, Mr Molloy said.

The incident happened on Thursday during the sentencing of two 16-year-old boys from Darwen who had written racist and sexually abusive words in prayer books and damaged a priceless John the Baptist cross.

During sentencing Mr Molloy told the boys: “Normal people would consider you absolute scum.”

He said his fellow magistrates had agreed with the use of the language.

But the court clerk, Christine Dean, challenged Mr Molloy in open court, saying he had used ‘inappropriate language'.

She then encouraged one of the boy’s mothers to go ahead with her plans to make an official complaint.

Afterwards, the court launched an investigation.

Mr Molloy, 57, from Darwen, who has been a chairman of the bench for 14 years and a magistrate for 18, said: “It was a considered decision made by all three magistrates on that day.

“In my view and in the view of other colleagues, the clerk over-stepped herself and over-reacted quite far.

"The magistrate on Friday decided that I should not take the chair as that case had caused some embarrassment.

“This caused a delay to the courts and they didn’t start until 11am, an hour late as someone from Accrington was sent to replace me. It was out of order.”

Mr Molloy said the words written by the boys had been ‘sickening and perverted’.

He said: “They needed to be told off. The courts need to start looking after the victims rather than the criminals.”

“I am perfectly capable and will not give up my role as a magistrate.

"I was saying it how it is and how people will understand.

"It reflects how things are today, I forgot to be politically correct.”

Just two months ago, Mr Molloy, the managing director of an engineering company in Blackburn, passed his assessment to sit as a chair.

The Mayor of Darwen, Coun Paul Browne said Mr Molloy had not done anything wrong.

He said: “I believe in calling a spade a spade. I’m a down to earth person and a lot of people are fed up with political correctness.

"It’s pathetic he had to stand down. It’s political correctness gone mad again.”

Coun Michael Lee, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, added: “What he said was from the heart and you’ll find a lot people would agree with his sentiments.

"He should not have to step down. He said what he thought.”

Sid Brighton, chief executive of the Justices’ Clerks Society described the case as unusual.

He said: “It is the clerk’s job to advise on all practice and procedure in court, so that magistrates or judges don’t say something they might regret later.

“In this respect, they can advise someone to moderate their language, but it does not normally happen that the clerk says this in open court.

“It perhaps would have been better to ask the bench to retire and speak to them outside the court about the language being used.”