A Leicestershire county councillor has apologized after an investigation found he sent "dismissive, personalized, and confrontational" emails to residents who complained about unauthorized St George's flags being placed on lampposts in Markfield.
Four residents filed complaints against Charles Whitford, who at the time was the Reform UK cabinet member for highways, transport, and waste. The complainants alleged that Whitford's emails left them feeling "belittled and/or intimidated" and failed to address their concerns about the legality, safety, and impact of the flags.
In emails seen by the BBC, Whitford claimed the flag-raisers were acting to "reject" the "destruction of British values" amid an alleged "influx of soon to be millions of mainly Muslim men of fighting age." He also asserted that immigrants were coming to make the UK a "Muslim state," prompting one resident to accuse him of "whipping up hatred."
Whitford told the BBC: "I should not have responded how I did to those emails. I responded in a personal rather than a professional way, and I am happy to apologize for that. However, I still think freedom of speech is an important thing."
A council report published Monday concluded that Whitford made "inflammatory assertions about religion/faith matters within an official response to a resident" and that his approach "contributed to residents feeling belittled and/or intimidated."
The investigation found that Whitford:
- Failed to treat members of the public with respect in his email communications
- Bullied at least one complainant, including by communications that could reasonably be seen as intimidating
- Brought his role and the council into disrepute, particularly given his senior position
- Failed to promote equalities or risked undermining equality duties by including inflammatory assertions about religion/faith
Whitford was temporarily "stood down" from his cabinet role by council leader Dan Harrison following the complaints. He later quit Reform UK and joined MP Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain party.
A separate complaint that Whitford used or was linked to "fake" social media accounts commenting on the flags was not investigated further on proportionality grounds. A further complaint about failing to declare a directorship in his register of interests was deemed a "technical breach," with no further action recommended due to lack of evidence of financial gain.
Whitford will attend a member conduct panel on 5 May, where councillors will consider the findings. The panel could require a public apology, retraining, or formal censure at a future council meeting.
Whitford has confirmed he accepts the findings related to the email correspondence.