Tory Councillor, 49, Suspended After Calling Rioters ‘Jungle Bunnies’ on Facebook
Louise Boyle and Kathy Bailes, Daily Mail (London), August 19, 2011
A Tory councillor has been suspended after he made racist remarks about rioters.
Bob Frost, who is also a secondary school maths teacher, described those involved in disturbances last week as ‘jungle bunnies’ on his Facebook page.
The 49-year-old posted the insult, referring to the riots in London on August 7, less than 24 hours after trouble flared in Tottenham, north London
He had been elected to Dover District Council to represent the Conservative Party in May.
Mr Frost teaches at Sir Roger Manwood’s Grammar School in Sandwich and describes himself as a ‘right-wing libertarian’.
The remark was removed from his Facebook page after he received a phone call from another Conservative party member.
Mr Frost then wrote on Facebook: ‘I have just had a phone call that accused me of racism for my above posting.
‘Looking at the dictionary it would appear that the term jungle bunnies is perjorative [sic] and is a racist slur relating to African-Americans.
‘Needless to say I did not mean to use any offensive racist term and was referring to the urban jungle.’
The councillor, who represents north Deal, added: ‘As for the bunny bit it was originally animals but I thought people might object to me calling fellow humans this so I chose something I thought was innocuous and also cuddly.’
Mr Frost’s apology was also taken down after he received another phone call from a fellow Conservative representative.
The councillor has been suspended from the party and an investigation into the comments has been launched before a panel decides what action to take.
Mr Frost said: ‘What I said was wrong and I apologise unreservedly. I am mortified by the offence that I have caused and have deleted these comments. I am very sorry.’
Councillor Sue Chandler, deputy leader of Dover District Council Conservative Group said: ‘There is no place in our society for this kind of language. We have therefore suspended Cllr Frost from the Conservative Group pending investigation.’
A senior Tory colleague, who declined to be named, described Mr Frost as a ‘idiot’.
Sir Roger Manwood’s Grammar School declined to comment on the matter.
Mr Frost’s Facebook postings have attracted controversy in the past in particular comments he made about single mothers in Dover town centre.
He wrote: ‘Well, being in the Market Square you might ask how all the single mothers congregating with their push-chaired spawn are able to afford both their beer and their tattoos. I have a horrible idea I am paying for both.’
When it was put to Mr Frost that some of those mothers might be from his own constituency in north Deal, he responded: ‘While there is a certain demographic which may well fit the description in North Deal it is most unusual for them to waddle so far from their territory.’
