A UKIP councillor has been criticised for referring to Muslims as ‘ragheads’ and saying many people expect them to ‘start rioting and cut our throats in our neighbourhoods.’

Cllr Philip Winter, who joined Almondsbury Parish Council two months ago, made the remarks on a friend’s Facebook wall last night.

A reader sent a copy of the post to the Gazette, and said he found Cllr Winter’s comments “both unacceptable and highly offensive,” adding: “Any person holding such an opinion is unfit for any public office.”

When contacted by the Gazette today, Cllr Winter admitted to making the remarks in reference to Muslims but said it was “in a private message as a personal comment – not as a councillor, so it’s not really anyone’s business.”

The post:

Explaining the remarks to the Gazette, Cllr Winter said: “I was telling someone on a personal level about how I used to be a Tory. I don’t really see how this can be found offensive. It must be the terminology which is being blown out of proportion and is an expression.

“What I said is nothing new, I think it’s a general concern from people and I didn’t send this speaking on behalf of the council. It was simply a personal message explaining my background to one person. I did not intend for this to be public.

“It’s being stirred up by a third party clearly.

“It has nothing to do with my position on the council, I expect to remain there. It was purely about my background in a private message.”

Almondsbury Parish Council said it has been made aware of Cllr Winter’s comments.

In a statement, the council said: “The people who told us of this have been advised that the proper course of action is to refer this to the monitoring officer of South Gloucestershire Council (SGC). We understand that this has happened.”

A SGC spokesman said: "We have been notified about a complaint relating to a parish councillor which will be dealt with via the standards committee, which is the usual procedure in these circumstances."