Councillor accused of blackmail over Gaza ceasefire email

A councillor who said he would publicly name other councillors who refused to sign a letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza has been accused of blackmail.

James Giles, an independent councillor, emailed 19,000 councillors urging them to sign the letter.

In his email, he said: "We will also be publishing the names of those who have been invited to sign but choose not to, in the interest of accountability."

The Local Government Association said the email caused "worry and distress".

Councillors have also reacted angrily to the communication. Robert Reiss, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Sheffield said he supported calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza-Israel conflict, but wouldn't sign the letter.

"Using naming and shaming as blackmail for political action is deeply disturbing," he said.

Matt Dent a Labour councillor from Southend said: "To my mind this is blackmail and a threat to councillors' safety which given the murder of David Amess seems especially reckless."

A Labour councillor in Monmouthshire, Rachel Garrick, said: "I won't be signing any letter that tries to intimidate people into signing it, no matter what the cause."

Mr Giles, who is a councillor in Kingston, south-west London, later sent a second email in which he said there was no intention to "publish the names of councillors who actively refuse to sign the letter but object to their name being published".

He also posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, saying he would apologise to councillors who felt threatened by the email.

However, responding to criticism that he was seeking to shame councillors, he said: "It's called public accountability. If I support 20mph (I do), I expect those opposing 20mph to hold me to account."

The letter, which accompanied the email, is addressed to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer and urges them to focus their efforts "towards driving lasting peace in the region".

"The collective punishment of civilians is never acceptable, whether perpetrated by Hamas or the Israeli military and enabled illegal settlers," it says.

It adds that antisemitism is "wholly unacceptable - however, this term cannot continue to be weaponised to absolve Israel of any accountability in how it has contributed to the ongoing tensions and its failure to comply with international law."

After the email and letter were sent to councillors, the Local Government Association issued a statement stating it "does not endorse how this recent communication... was sent, nor the hurt, worry and distress that this has caused".

"Pending investigation, Councillor Giles has stood down from all formal positions within the Local Government Association and all upcoming speaking opportunities at our events, with immediate effect."

The association also said the police and the Information Commissioner's Office - the UK's privacy watchdog - were "aware of the ongoing situation".

Mr Giles has insisted he would not be resigning from his LGA roles, but rather had agreed to a "temporary suspension".

The letter, but not the email, was co-drafted by another Kingston councillor, Conservative Jamal Chohan.

The Kingston and Surbiton Conservative Association says the councillor has been removed from their group pending an investigation, but Mr Chohan has now resigned from the party altogether.

In his resignation letter, he said the party acknowledged he didn't write the controversial email, but had nonetheless asked him to apologise "as a matter of 'public perception'".

"I will not apologise for something that I did not do and I am not prepared to represent the Conservative Party under its current administration," he said.

He also accused the party of trying to "silence advocates for peace" and adopting "far right" policies.

"I cannot continue to associate with this type of politics and find that I am far too often having to apologise for representing the Conservative Party."

Speaking to the BBC, he said he felt "betrayed, shocked and heartbroken" by the party's actions.