Councillor says frustration led to 'punch him' text

Kent councillor Peter Osborne said the message was "made out of frustration" rather than malice

A Reform UK councillor says he accepts there is "never an excuse for violence" after a WhatsApp message exchange about leaked video of a virtual party meeting.

The footage, leaked to The Guardian in October, showed Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran shouting, swearing and telling party members to "suck it up" regarding her decisions.

Speculating on the leak's source in a group chat, Peter Osborne wrote: "I'm hoping this mole is a bloke so I can punch him right in the jaw."

Osborne, the council's cabinet member for transport and highways, said the comment was "made out of frustration at the circumstances, which I'm sure many will understand, rather than malice".

"I said what I said in anger at the betrayal of a number of individuals who I had considered my friends and colleagues," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Reform UK swept into office at KCC after local elections in May, where the party won 57 of the authority's 81 seats.

It has lost nine councillors since then, seven of whom have been kicked out of the party since the video leak.

KCC's opposition leader Antony Hook called for Osborne to resign.

The Liberal Democrat said the revelation of the message was "shocking" and "the councillor who threatened his own colleague should resign from the council".

Reform UK declined to comment.