A Bromley councillor has been readmitted to the Conservative Party following his expulsion last year after he appeared to suggest a rape victim was a sex worker.

Councillor Shaun Slator, who represents the St Mary Cray ward for Bromley Council, has been allowed to rejoin the Conservative Party after being expelled in April last year.

The councillor was removed from the party following a post from his account on X at the end of 2022. Cllr Slator replied to a post on X from the News Shopper on December 31 2022, reporting on an alleged rape in Plumstead Park.

In his reply, which has since been deleted, Cllr Slator wrote: “More likely that it’s a punter that didn’t pay.”

The Conservative Party expelled Cllr Slator from the party in April 2023 in accordance with its code of conduct and formal complaints process.

However, the party has since confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the councillor has been allowed to return to the group.

A Conservative Party spokesperson told the LDRS: “Mr Slator has been readmitted to the Conservative Party after sincerely apologising for his actions as well as undertaking training and outreach with community groups.”

The councillor was suspended from the Bromley Conservative Group in January 2023 after the authority received 18 complaints about the controversial reply on X.

A document shared with the LDRS stated that Bromley Council decided not to punish the councillor, stating that an independent investigator felt ‘agonised’ about their conclusion but felt that Cllr Slator was not acting in his capacity as a councillor at the time.

Regarding his readmission, Lib Dem Councillor Graeme Casey, and parliamentary candidate for Orpington for the party, told the LDRS: “Of course it is up to the Conservative Party who they accept as members and representatives of their constituents.

"I am surprised they have chosen to readmit Cllr Slator, who was responsible for a very offensive and misogynistic comment about rape victims.”

He added: “It will be up to the constituents of St Mary Cray to decide if they feel that they could be better represented in future.

"The electorate has a longer memory and better understanding of the issue of misogyny than the Conservative Party I feel.”

Cllr Slator sat as an independent councillor for the duration of his expulsion, but UK Parliament documents from March this year listed him as still being a parliamentary passholder working for Jackie Doyle-Price, Conservative MP for Thurrock in Essex.

Jen Craft, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the Thurrock constituency, told the LDRS that she was astounded by the MP appearing to continue to employ the councillor.

She said: “By [apparently] refusing to take action against Cllr Slator, despite her own party believing his actions to be worthy of censor, Jackie Doyle-Price has demonstrated a complete disregard for her constituents, some of whom may now feel unable to contact her for assistance when they are at their most vulnerable for fear of interacting with this individual who holds such repugnant views.”

Cllr Slator apologised for his comments in response to the alleged rape at a Bromley Council meeting in February 2023.

The councillor claimed he had posted the response in order to highlight the issue of women being exploited in Plumstead and that he had since deactivated his X account.

He said at the time: “I’m not ashamed to admit that I am fallible, and I have made a mistake. I now understand that with the privilege afforded to me as a councillor to better serve my community comes a responsibility to reflect more deeply on what I say and post online.”

Cllr Slator, Dame Jackie Doyle-Price and the Bromley Conservative Group were approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.