COUNCILLOR THREATENED OVER FOODBANK VIDEO

Cllr Ian Henderson (Labour) and Tory MP Felicity Buchan

A Labour councillor in Kensington has received a formal warning from his party after appearing in a video with a Tory MP.  The pair were delivering food for vulnerable people.

Cllr Henderson was told in a letter from his local party whip: "Pandemic or no pandemic, you should seek formal advice and approval before appearing in media and publicity done by the Conservatives".

The letter went on: "By the end of the coming weekend, I request that you apologise to Pat Mason as Leader, copying in the Group and do everything you have been asked to disassociate yourself from the Conservative publicity videos.  This involves untagging and requesting the Member of Parliament and Elizabeth Campbell to untag you from the video and doing any other necessary action to disassociate yourself from it.  It also involves responding to the video on twitter to clarify in a short and simple statement that the video does not represent the views and has not been endorsed by the Labour Group.  If requests from the Whip are not complied with, further action can potentially be taken including removal from Council positions within the province of the group and withdrawal of the whip, following a vote of the Labour Group".