A SENIOR councillor has been officially “admonished” for a controverisal Tweet about gay marriage – but will be allowed back into the Conservative Party.

Cllr James Malliff's suspension from the party has been extended by one month – meaning he will have spent ten weeks in the political sin bin.

The Wycombe district councillor caused outrage in October by posting a message online saying: “We may as well legalise marriage with animals, crude I concede but no apology”.

A statement was released by the Wycombe Conservative Association today, following a meeting of senior party officials on Friday.

It says: "He [Cllr Malliff] gave his sincere apologies to the association and to the people hurt by his comments, acknowledging that they had caused deep offence because they could be misconstrued.

“It was noted Cllr Malliff had given his apologies at the time of his suspension both to the public at large and to individuals who had contacted him directly.

“The Wycombe Conservative Association, whilst noting the full and prompt apology given by Cllr Malliff, admonished him for the manner in which he made his comments, and warned him of his future conduct.

“A decision was taken to suspend James Malliff from the Conservative Party for one further month, making a total suspension of 10 weeks.”

It is not yet clear whether the Hazlemere councillor will retain his position as 'cabinet member for the Big Society' at Wycombe District Council.

Leader Alex Collingwood has been unavailable for comment this morning.

Cllr Malliff, who is a Christian, made the comments in response to a David Cameron speech in favour of gay marriage.

He previously told the Bucks Free Press the message was 'misconstrued' and was intended to be about 'where the line should be drawn' on marriage.