A senior Green councillor has been criticised after a half-baked online rant about pasties. Ben Duncan, a Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet member, has apologised for the outburst on social networking site Twitter in which he asked his 1,562 followers: “Who gives a f*** about pasties?”

In last Wednesday’s budget Chancellor George Osborne announced 20% would be added to hot baked foods.

The move, dubbed the ‘pasty tax’, sparked fury from bakers who said the new rules would cost the industry millions every year.

Tim Cutress, managing director of Forfars Bakery which has a branch in Coun Duncan’s Queen’s Park ward, branded the comment “disgraceful”.

“This tax is going to cost my business a quarter of a million pounds every year. We are already going through probably the toughest time since my family started 75 years ago.

"For a city councillor to say that makes me livid. He obviously doesn’t know the first thing about traders – even in his own ward.

“If he wants to know who cares about this issue, he should speak to worried businesses like us who employ a lot of people.”

Coun Duncan, cabinet member for communities, equalities and public protection said: “I’m amazed anyone took my comment seriously and do apologise if it caused any offence. It was a joke that was responding to the news because it’s not the only thing going on in the world.

"The point I was trying to make was that the debate about pasties is distracting from larger issues.

“Clearly I sympathise with any business that is suffering from the appallingly unfair budget. I would love to go and visit the bakery and sample some of their vegan goods.”

But after The Argus asked Coun Duncan to explain his comment, he tweeted: "You've got to be so careful on Twitter - scumbag journos are watching your every move!"