Kent County Council has been accused of showing bias by using the phrase "worst case scenario" in meeting papers about Brexit.

Cllr Seán Holden (Con) made the comments today while officers gave an update on the authority’s preparation for Great Britain’s departure from the European Union next March.

The phrase "worst case scenario" is used twice in papers detailing what potential impacts a "no deal scenario where full third country custom checks would be required" would have on the county.

But the Cranbrook representative took exception to the “language and approach” of officers.

He said: “It is politically charged, and is alongside the words ‘off a cliff edge’ and ‘crashing out of the EU’.

"I would prefer not to see it in county council papers because it’s a political judgement.

“It quite definitely sets the county council on one side of the argument by using those words, and it’s not acceptable that we should be taking a side officially in this.

“I don’t accept it’s the worst case scenario if we have World Trade Organisation rules, and I don’t accept necessarily that all traffic jams follow.

“We have to remember we’re making a decision as a country.

"Not about what happens in the Kent for the next month or two, but what happens in Britain for many, many years to come.

“What I haven’t seen here is a positive approach saying how we can speak to the government about how we can minimise any of this disruption which may not happen anyway.”

Environment and transport cabinet committee chairman Cllr Matthew Balfour's (Con) responded: “To my mind, this is a well-balanced report using sensible language.”

But Cllr Holden hit back, telling his counterpart he was “a remainer, so you would think that”.

The comments did receive some support, however, with Cllr Rory Love (Con) telling officers they need to be “sensitive” about using phrases that have been “hijacked by people from one side or the other”.

But Fiona Gaffney, KCC’s head of resilience and emergency planning, refuted any suggestions of bias.

She added: “There’s language we use in emergency planning and sometimes it’s reasonable (to use) ‘worst case scenario’, and sometimes it’s ‘unintentional consequences’.

“That’s the language we’re used to using and that doesn’t have a political side of things, but it’s really important we plan for those.”