Maldon District Council (MDC) has said that it is proud to support Pride following comments made by members of Maldon Town Council (MTC) about the rainbow flag at a recent MTC meeting.

In a statement on Twitter, MDC said: "We are aware of comments made at a recent Maldon Town Council meeting about the Pride flag.

"Maldon District Council is proud to support Pride and the LGBTQ+ community, including flying the flags during Pride and Transgender Awareness Day each year.

"Love is love."

MDC's statement comes in response to comments made at a meeting of MTC's finance and general purposes committee on the evening of Monday, 16 August.

At the meeting, councillors debated a request from the Friends of the Moot Hall Charitable Trust to fly the rainbow flag during Pride Week and for weddings at the venue.

Council members agreed to buy the flag on behalf of the venue to be flown during Pride Week, but refused to allow the venue to fly it during weddings.

Councillor Jeanette Stilts said: "I think we're setting a precedent if we fly it at weddings, because then why aren't we flying flags for other people?"

Councillor Tony Shrimpton said: "I'm happy about the flag being flown during Pride Week.

"I'm not very keen on calling same-sex weddings weddings.

"When you're talking about same-sex weddings, you're not talking about weddings."

Councillor Andrew Lay, deputy town mayor and chairman of the committee, said: "There are different views in the town council about that."

Moot Hall is a small Grade I listed building on Maldon High Street available for weddings and civil ceremonies, of which it holds between 12 and 15 a year.

Friends of the Moot Hall Charitable Trust has a 25-year lease on the building, which is owned by MTC. The Trust manages Moot Hall to enable the public to enjoy the town's history and hold special ceremonies.

The Trust applied for a ceremonies licence to enable it to offer weddings for LGBT+ people at the venue, which was granted in 2011. It is one of the only places in Maldon currently licensed to do so.

Essex County Council and MDC fly the rainbow flag in June to celebrate Essex Pride each year.