Reform loses another member of crisis-hit Kent 'flagship' council

Nigel Farage's Reform UK suspended another member of its "flagship" county council in Kent as it held its first full meeting since the party's councillors were thrown into crisis by a leaked meeting revealing bitter internal tensions.

- Ben Quinn

The departure of Isabella Kemp, who had also worked as a data protection officer at Reform's HQ, means that the party has lost nine of the 57 councillors elected during the local elections in May.

Kemp, 23, said yesterday that she had started the process of taking Reform UK to a tribunal for unfair dismissal. She has contacted the conciliation service Acas and Protect, a whistleblowing charity.

The latest turmoil comes after the Guardian published a recording of an incendiary internal meeting in which the council leader, Linden Kemkaran, told dissenting Reform UK colleagues they had to "fucking suck it up" if they did not like her decisions.

Four Reform councillors were suspended shortly after the leak. One of those and another who had been suspended over separate allegations have now formed an "Independent Reformers" group on the council.