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A Reform MP will not face disciplinary action despite being accused of threatening to hit a colleague “on the chin”.
Kent County Councilor Peter Osborne is the subject of a formal complaint signed by the leader of an opposition group over a message he sent last autumn. The alleged threats emerged after a video leaked showing Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran shouting and swearing at fellow Reform members.
Osborne wrote in a Whatsapp group of dozens of MPs: “I wish the mole was a bloke so I could punch him in the jaw.”
An email seen by the Press Association stated that the KCC would not take further action in response to the complaint.
The leaders of Kent County Council’s Lib Dems, Greens, Labour, Conservatives and Independent Reform faction all accused Mr Osborne of breaching the body’s councillors’ code of conduct.
Reform UK dismissed the complaint as “vexatious”, while opposition leaders expressed “disappointment” and “concern” at the KCC’s decision.
In the original complaint signed by the opposition leaders, they said Mr Osborne breached the code of conduct and in particular engaged in harassment or bullying, including “intimidating behaviour”.
The complaint reads: “It is self-evident to us that other KCC members may have been aware of Mr Osborne’s risk of violence or would have been distressed by reading this message.
“Such messages clearly have the potential to create a hostile or intimidating environment.”
The Press Association has seen evidence that the KCC did not consider the comments serious enough to warrant action and did not believe Mr Osborne was acting in his capacity as an MP when he sent the message.
The commission also told the complainant that there would be no benefit in taking further action as the matter had become public domain.
In November last year, KentOnline reported that Mr Osborne said his message was sent out of “frustration” rather than “malice”, admitting there was “never an excuse” for violence.
KCC Opposition Leader Antony Hook, a Liberal Democrat, said: “A lot of people will be disappointed with this decision. I don’t agree with the reasons given and it seems to me unacceptable that MPs are telling colleagues they want to hit one of their own.”
Reform Party MPs were sacked over Whatsapp communications after the video was allegedly leaked, with a former Reform MP calling the Reform Party’s response to the incident “hypocritical”.
Bill Barrett, now leader of the Independent Reformers group, said: “I am extremely concerned that the case against Councilor Osborne has been dismissed.
“Apparently, MPs can make any threatening or insulting remarks in internal political WhatsApp groups without being sanctioned.
“I also find the British reform wing of the KCC extremely hypocritical in expelling seven members of their own party over non-threatening or physically threatening behavior such as WhatsApp messages.”
A KCC spokesman said: “Matters relating to any individual member code of conduct complaint will not be discussed with the public.”
Reform UK declined to comment.