Calls have been made for a Warwickshire Reform councillor to resign after he said in an email the Pride movement has been "hijacked by groomers and mentally ill men" and that it is his "duty to promote the 'nuclear family' and all the benefits that brings".

Warwickshire Pride has shared a copy of an email from Cllr Wayne Briggs which was sent to Warwickshire County Council (WCC) chair Cllr Dale Keeling and other Reform UK councillors.

Cllr Briggs' - who is also the portfolio holder for children and families and for education - email was in response to the chair's decision to allow the Pride flag to hang from a council-owned building in Warwick.

Cllr Keeling agreed to let the flag fly from a single flagpole at Old Shire Hall, Northgate Street, around the corner from the main council building, after councillors from multiple other parties called for it to be allowed this month.

Sent on Monday 8 June, the email from Cllr Briggs to his Reform UK colleagues said: "I'm disappointed however that you seem to have bowed to concerted pressure from a coalition of left-wing councillors and agreed to their request to put the 'pride flag' up.

"Personally I'm, all for live and let live, but this movement has been hijacked by groomers, and mentally ill men in dresses gyrating in front of children and pushing a delusion that you can somehow change from 'male' to 'female' or vice versa if you're unhappy with your own body.

"This is dangerous ideology.

"It is not something I agree with, so the flag certainly doesn't represent me, the residents who voted for me or the vast majority that voted for any of us on the centre-right.

"We can see the degradation of our society before our eyes and I believe it is our duty to promote the 'nuclear family' and all the benefits that brings to children, their parents and wider society.

"I request therefore that you continue to refuse the request and you make it clear we're all united behind you."

No response to the email from Cllr Keeling has been shared.

In a statement today (June 17), Warwickshire Pride says it has submitted a code of conduct complaint against Cllr Briggs and has reported him to Warwickshire Police for what it described as "hate speech".

The group has demanded an apology and for Cllr Briggs to resign.

"From a sitting councillor, this is completely unacceptable, a clear breach of the code of conduct and principles of public life, and a hate crime that must be dealt with," the statement said.

The email comes hot on the heals of Reform-led proposals to axe funding for Warwickshire's Equality & Inclusion Partnership to provide discrimination and hate crime support, equalities training and guidance through community and faith groups, businesses, schools and the public sector.

Council leader Cllr George Finch has also come under fire for his statement to the press alleging that county council libraries "have been promoting contested gender ideology".

In a statement to Nub News, Cllr Briggs said: "I am aware that a private email I sent has been published online and that complaints have been made about it.

"That email was not a statement issued by Warwickshire County Council, nor was it an agreed statement made by the administration or in my capacity as a portfolio holder. It was a private email expressing my personal views to Reform colleagues and the Chairman of the Council.

"I stand by the concerns I raised and will not be offering an apology. I believe there are serious and legitimate questions about political neutrality in council buildings and the importance of protecting children and maintaining parental confidence.

"However, I fully accept that if I were speaking publicly as a portfolio holder or issuing a formal statement on behalf of the Council, I would use different language.

"We at Warwickshire County Council serve all residents.

"My concern is not about denying services to anyone or treating any resident unfairly. It is about the promotion of gender reassignment, particularly in council spaces and services used by families.

"I will cooperate fully with any process that may arise from any complaints that are submitted and will not be commenting further."