A LABOUR councillor has hit back after he was expelled from the party.

Councillor Nick Childs, who represents Queen’s Park ward on Brighton and Hove City Council, said in a statement on Thursday that he had been ejected from the Labour Party.

He said: “The purported reason is that I liked a Facebook group that was apparently linked to a proscribed left wing organisation.

“I was unaware of the group, its existence and I am certainly not a member, nor supporter, of this or any other faction.”

Cllr Childs will now sit as an Independent.

The Argus contacted the Labour Party to confirm the reason for the dismissal of Cllr Childs but received no response.

The Argus: Nick ChildsNick Childs

Cllr Child said he believes “the real reason for my expulsion is, I suspect, that I am a democratic socialist and environmentalist who refuses to toe the party line when it comes to inequality and climate change and representing my residents".

Cllr Childs was a member of the Labour Party for 31 years.

He told The Argus that he is currently abroad but will be issuing a further comment on his return.

Brighton and Hove City Council said it would not comment on individual councillors.

“As with any political party represented on the council, it would be for the Labour Party Group to advise our chief executive of any changes to the status of their councillors,” said a council spokesman.

“If councillors are expelled from a political group, it does not mean that they stop being councillors.”

Councillor Anne Pissaridou was also removed from the Labour Party, but was already sitting as an Independent councillor.

Cllr Pissaridou was allowed back in to the Labour group of councillors just a few months ago following an earlier suspension, and is understood to be taking legal advice. She did not respond to a request for a comment.