A Labour council leader has resigned after a vile WhatsApp exchange revealed he branded Rotherham child rape gang victims as "poor white trash".
Peterborough City Council leader Dennis Jones sent the messages in late-night exchanges with younger councillor Daisy Blakemore-Creedon.
When she had raised concerns over immigration and women's safety, Mr Jones responded saying: "Oh so white British cops f*****g poor white trash in Rotherham is OK, is it? Get a f*****g grip, Daisy".
He then went on to accuse Ms Blakemore-Creedon of chasing "populist votes and attention".
Mr Jones added: "I wish you no luck at all".
In a separate exchange a short time later, he appeared to mock Ms Blakemore-Creedon, saying "Give them your sweetest pout".
"And see above for likely outcome lol," he added.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described the comments as "truly abhorrent", adding that "Peterborough is one of the 50 towns and cities identified as somewhere these disgusting rape gangs are believed to have operated".
Dennis Jones' profile on the Peterborough Labour Party website has been taken down
|PETERBOROUGH LABOUR PARTY
Mr Philp added that "victims and survivors have been led down by this Labour Government who had to be dragged kicking and screaming every step of the way".
"The Prime Minister disgracefully smeared as 'far-right' those supporting calls for a proper inquiry," he said.
Mr Philp called for Mr Jones to be expelled from the Labour Party, saying: "If Keir Starmer is serious about protecting victims, he will immediately expel this despicable man".
In a statement, Peterborough City Council wrote: "Councillor Dennis Jones has today resigned with immediate effect".
Daisy Blakemore-Creedon claimed posting the screenshot was not about 'point-scoring'
| TWITTER
The screenshot of the exchange between the two councillors
|"An Extraordinary Full Council meeting will be called as soon as reasonably possible to appoint a new Council Leader," the council stated.
"Councillor Jones remains a councillor and will serve as an independent.
"The resignation is in response to comments made by Councillor Jones, which were shared on social media.
"A formal complaint has been received by the council in relation to this, and we are now considering its contents."
Mr Jones has since "apologised wholeheartedly for the language".
Ms Blakemore-Creedon, an Independent councillor, shared a screenshot of the exchange from August 8 on social media.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that "we were having a civil and respectful exchange, until that moment".
"His words took me aback, and I was honestly too stunned to respond in the moment. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the conversation," she said.
"Since sharing this ... I have had victims reach out to me directly.
Their voices, their pain, and their courage confirm what I knew deep down: speaking out was the right thing to do."
Ms Blakemore-Creedon said it wasn't about "point-scoring or politics" but about the safety, dignity and lived experiences of victims.
"No one should ever feel silenced when those values are dismissed so casually," she said.