A senior Kingston councillor says he quit a local Conservative group with "no regrets" over the party's refusal to back calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Jamal Chohan is now standing as an Independent councillor in Kingston after branding the Conservative Party a "sinking ship".

Cllr Chohan said he was given an ultimatum by the Kingston Conservative Group to publicly apologise by 21 November or be suspended over an email he did not write asking colleagues to support demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The email was sent by Independent councillor James Giles to thousands of councillors across the UK on November 19 and asked them to sign an open letter to MPs, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer with the demands. The open letter was signed by Cllr Chohan.

The email from Cllr Giles said the names of those who had been invited to sign but chose not to would be published "in the interest of accountability". It also offered anonymity to those who wished to sign but did not want to be named.

Cllr Giles later told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the email had created "confusion" but he never intended to publish the names of every councillor who did not sign the letter – only those who gave permission for him to do so.

The open letter said: "We are writing to demand that you call for an immediate ceasefire and that you focus your efforts towards driving lasting peace in the region through meaningful impartial mediation for a two-state solution."

It added: "To be clear and stating the obvious, anti-Semitism is wholly unacceptable. However, this term cannot continue to be weaponised to absolve Israel of any accountability in how it has contributed to the ongoing tensions and its failure to comply with international law."

A Conservative spokesperson said Cllr Chohan had not been a party member since 2020. They said he was told he was no longer a member of the Kingston Conservative Group at 5pm on November 20 and that he would "need to apologise for his perceived threatening language if he wanted to be readmitted".

Candidates for election to Kingston Council must show they are authorised to represent the party they are standing for, but there is no legal requirement for them to be a member.

In his resignation letter on 21 November, Cllr Chohan said the group had acknowledged he did not write the email but told him to "apologise anyway as a matter of 'public perception'".

He said: "I am writing to you… to advise that I will not apologise for something that I did not do and I am not prepared to represent the Conservative Party under its current administration."

Regarding the Israel-Hamas war, Cllr Chohan said: "Any efforts that I have made to engage on this topic within the party have been met with total disregard. This is what has led me to engage in cross-party initiatives on this issue."

Cllr Chohan said he had "not been allowed the personal liberty to advocate for peace whilst remaining a Conservative".

He added the party had "adopted policies which are extending to the far right" and that it "looks very much like a sinking ship which is losing its dignity in the process".

He wrote he could not continue to associate with "this type of politics" and found he was "far too often having to apologise for representing the Conservative Party". 

Cllr Chohan told the LDRS he chose to follow his "moral compass and resigned with no regrets".

He said: "I will now refocus my efforts on serving the people of Kingston upon Thames on local issues, including those within our community that are deeply wounded by our government's inaction on the conflict in the Middle East. I will engage with the Jewish and Arab communities of Kingston to bolster social cohesion."

Around 1,200 people were killed and 240 hostages taken in a surprise attack launched by Hamas on 7 October.

Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza and launched a ground offensive.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said more than 14,500 people have been killed in the region since the war began.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day pause in fighting that began on 24 November.

The temporary ceasefire has now entered its fifth day after a 48-hour extension was agreed.

The deal involves the release of hostages by Hamas for the freeing of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Cllr Chohan is now serving as deputy leader of the Independents in Kingston, meaning the group has taken over from the Conservatives as the official opposition on the Lib Dem-run Kingston Council.

The council said in a previous statement its primary concern was the "security and safety of our residents, elected members, staff and our local communities, whilst encouraging tolerance and community cohesion".

It said the campaign was not led or endorsed by the council, and that it was looking into details surrounding the matter.