A MAN dubbed "Britain's Worst Boss" infuriated election candidates after posting he had been "punching Brexiteers in the mouth on their doorstep", it is alleged.
A screenshot appears to show Julian Preston-Powers, whose wife owns Intenso Espresso Bar in Hove, making the comment from his Facebook page.
Mr Preston-Powers, who shot to national notoriety when he turned down a job applicant saying “British people have a poor work ethic” also posted a comment claiming he was not old enough "to be aware of a place in time when Israel was not the root cause of most world conflict".
He admits posting the Israel comment but denies posting that he had been punching Brexiteers.
Mr Preston-Powers was found guilty of threatening to publish unfounded allegations against the Shoreham College headteacher on the internet if he did not resign in March.
In the alleged post, Preston-Powers claimed he had been canvassing for Labour.
Speaking about the post, Peter Kyle, the Labour candidate in the Hove and Portslade constituency, said Mr Preston-Powers was not registered as part of his campaign and hopes he is "making an ill-judged and very poor joke".
Conservative candidate Robert Nemeth described the situation as "chilling".
The post, which was made from Mr Preston-Power's account, reads: "I was out canvassing for Labour and, in between punching Brexiteers in the mouth on their doorstep for getting lippy (literally this has happened twice in as many evenings) I spoke to the Hove bus station who told me they have 30 out of 90 buses electric now. and shockingly, that they are the first in the whole country."
This comes after a Labour supporter's door was "kicked in" after he displayed party posters in his window in Titian Road in Hove.
Mr Kyle, who is hoping to be re-elected to the seat tomorrow, said: “We register all our volunteers in Hove and Portslade and Julian Preston-Powers is not registered as part of our campaign.
"He has not been campaigning in Hove with us and there’s been no reports from volunteers or the police, so I hope Mr Preston-Powers is making an ill-judged and very poor joke.
"I hope from the bottom on my heart that there was no actual violence.
"I’ve spoken time and again about the importance of the tone of the language we use in political discourse and I hope Mr Preston-Powers considers the wider of effect of this post, particularly on the younger generation.”
Conservative candidate Robert Nemeth said: "“The extreme left is now mainstream in Hove and Portslade sadly.
"It’s like a religion and many people are now signed up to it. It’s a chilling situation.”
Sussex Police have been contacted for comment.
Mr Preston Powers said: "I've neither posted those words nor deleted any of my comments or posts.
"That is totally false and I'd be interested in hearing where that originated from and the image created to make it seem like I had posted such words."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel