A Twitter row has erupted after a Bexley councillor accused “Labour trolls” of being fans of racism.

A complaint has been made about Councillor Philip Read for “bullying” after he tweeted about residents he claimed appeared to support racism.

Cllr Read has been accused of breaking the council’s code of ethics after he posted two pictures in a now-deleted post showing one resident retweeting what appeared to be criticism of mass immigration, and another of three people who had interacted with that resident’s account.

Cllr Read wrote alongside the pictures: “Still no comment on this racist who supports you @BexleyLabour? Tainted by association as is the sad old blogger and a labour troll who appears to be a fan of the racist.”

One of the three people Cllr Read referred to, Chris Brown, helped organise a local campaign group to “save” a park in Erith.

Mr Brown said: “I don’t follow his Twitter account, however, it was another follower who contacted me direct about this latest tweet.

“In the past he blocked me then put several tweets out on his account insulting me as the ‘Labour Troll’ or ‘This Individual’

“However, this latest attack was completely unprovoked and a defamation of my character. To try and link me to racism by association of liking someone’s photos of the local area is disgusting and I have put an official complaint in about this.”

Pictures showing Cllr Read retweeting a recently suspended Lewisham candidate – Karen Sundarland – days before she was investigated for Islamophobia, have since appeared online.

Mr Brown continued: “For someone in public office, who recently voted to end ‘hate crime’, his behaviour falls short of any form of expectations.

“I have sought a public apology and think he should be suspended from duty. We have no tolerance for hate crime in Bexley.”

Brian Barnett, who runs the ThamesmeadNews account, was the one to retweet a post seemingly showing a picture of a”Muslim march in England”, along with a post saying “So what did the political police do?”

Mr Barnett has since said he felt Cllr Read’s subsequent tweeted response was “out of hand.”

He said: “I saw a large group and did not see any police. It could have been any large group, any parade should have police – that’s why I retweeted it.

“Anyone who disagrees with Cllr Read is called a troll or a racist. I’ve met him before and he has said hello – but this was out of hand.”

The leader of Bexley Labour, Daniel Francis, said: “The allegations are not against any member of the Labour Party, and we condemn racism in all forms.”

A spokesman for Bexley Council said: “Any complaint received about the conduct of a Member is reviewed in accordance with the procedure and timescales that the Council has in place.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on any complaint at this stage. ”

Cllr Read was approached for a comment.