LONDON: Reform UK has suspended a councillor who was involved in a WhatsApp group where a member advocated a “mass Islam genocide.”

The councillor, Tom Pickup, is now the subject of an internal inquiry by the right-wing party, The Independent reported.

Reform UK told the newspaper that Pickup was suspended on Wednesday pending investigation.

He claimed to be unaware of the group’s more extreme contents, including posts in which members were encouraged to gather weapons to attack “migrants” and carry out a “mass Islam genocide.”

Pickup said he had left the WhatsApp group chat and did not support calls for genocide against Muslims.

“I’ve done a lot of community work with local Islamic groups. I would have condemned it and probably reported it — if it’s even real. I haven’t seen those messages,” he told The Guardian.

Samara Barnes, a Labour councillor for Lancashire County Council, has called on Pickup to step down and said she has filed a complaint with the council’s standards committee.

“We’re living in a very volatile moment, and if people are suggesting something like an Islam genocide, that amounts to domestic terrorism,” she added.

“We’ve seen what happens when people are radicalised and feel emboldened to commit horrific acts.

“This goes far beyond an apology or a training course. It’s extremely serious, and Reform UK needs to take firm action.”