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Calls for Tory councillor Bob Frost to resign after tweets joking about slavery

A controversial councillor has said that a city's abortion clinic is a form of crime prevention.

Conservative Bob Frost also quipped on social media that he "bought two of the staff" at the restaurant for Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum.

Liverpool was centuries ago a key port in a slave trade in which black Africans were the victims.

Cllr Bob Frost
Cllr Bob Frost

Now Labour opponent, Charlotte Cornell, says the slavery comment is racist and has called for him to resign.

The two crossed swords on Twitter over the weekend while she was in Liverpool for the Labour Party Conference and she tweeted a picture of herself in the city.

Cllr Frost, district member for North Deal, tweeted in response: "The only city I know where the local Marie Stopes clinic is funded by the council as part of their crime prevention program..."

The clinics, which are nationwide, provide both abortion and vasectomy services.

Ms Cornell, Dover and Deal prospective parliamentary candidate for Labour, retweeted: “This is @Conservative councillor on @DoverDC talking today about abortion in #Liverpool.

“I’m here at #LabWomen18 where 1000 @UKLabour women will echo my calls for him to resign.

"Take action now @DDCLeader @theresa_may.”

Charlotte Cornell, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Dover and Deal
Charlotte Cornell, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Dover and Deal

This means both Dover District Council leader Keith Morris and Tory Prime Minister Theresa May have been alerted via Twitter.

Cllr Frost carried on the spat with a swear word saying: “B******s.

"BTW (by the way) don’t miss the Tate and Slavery Museum. I visited in Jan when went to see Ken Dodd. Excellent service in restaurant attached.

"So good I bought two of the staff...”

Ms Cornell retweeted that and wrote: “And now this! Tory district councillor. what are you going to do @DDCLeader - outraged. Do you agree @DawnButlerBrent?”

Dawn Butler is the Shadow Women and Equalities Minister and MP for Brent Central in London.

Ms Cornell told KentOnline: “These tweets from an elected Conservative councillor are quite shocking.

"You cannot pass remarks about buying staff at a slavery museum off as a joke" - Charlotte Cornell

"You cannot pass remarks about buying staff at a slavery museum off as a joke.

“This is racist and wholly unacceptable. I would be very surprised indeed if the current Tory leader of the council, Cllr Keith Morris, didn’t suspend the party whip from this councillor; not to do so would be to condone Mr Frost’s remarks.”

Cllr Frost, also a Deal town councillor, made no reference to the race of the two museum restaurant staff he had remarked about.

A Dover District Council spokesman said: “The council can only take action on a complaint about any councillor when discharging their functions as a councillor.

“The law does not allow the council to regulate what a person may do in his or her private capacity.

"There is no mechanism for the council to initiate a complaint under the code of conduct.

Cllr Bob Frost quipped on social media he'd "bought two of the staff" at the restaurant for Liverpool's International Slavery Museum.
Cllr Bob Frost quipped on social media he'd "bought two of the staff" at the restaurant for Liverpool's International Slavery Museum.

"Where a complaint is received it has to be dealt with in accordance with the council’s adopted arrangements for dealing with such complaints.

"We would not be able to comment on whether or not a complaint had been made.”

Cllr Frost declined to comment in answer to the criticism against him.

He has previously stirred hornets' nests with his tweets.

He was suspended from the Conservative party after making the comment "jungle bunny" on Facebook during the August 2011 riots in English cities.

He was later cleared of wrongdoing by his party, but the row led to him leaving his job as a teacher at Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich.

In March 2014 he came under fire for using the terms "frogs" "sons of camel drivers" and "ragheads" on social media.

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