A SENIOR Conservative councillor is at the centre of a race row following the leak of a personal e-mail message.

Retired Army lieutenant colonel Roger Latchford, who has an OBE, has helped police with an inquiry into the content of the message that he sent more than a year ago from his home computer email system to friends that include district councillors and officers in Thanet.

The message was titled 'Suicide Bomber' and it questioned "why Muslim terrorists are so quick to commit suicide".

It then continued with pages of suggestions that have been described as racially offensive.

Cllr Latchford, 70, who is deputy leader of the district council, announced to political colleagues on Tuesday that he is not to seek re-election at this May's district elections "for personal and family reasons."

He stressed the decision had been made a month ago and had been lodged then with his group leader.

The email contents were passed to Thanet council chief executive Richard Samuel by the Labour group leader, Cllr Richard Nicholson, after a print-out was posted to his home address anonymously.

Cllr Nicholson said he found the subject matter offensive and was "duty bound as an elected representative - and as a member of the council's standards committee - to pass the contents on to the chief executive and Kent police."

He said: "Once I had received it I had no choice but to act. Roger Latchford should resign as a district councillor and deputy leader of the Conservative group straight away.

"My attitude is nothing to do with politics. My sentiment would be exactly the same if it were a member of my group. We are elected by people of all faiths, beliefs and race. We represent them all."

Cllr Latchford, who intends to "stay in post" unless council leader Cllr Sandy Ezekiel asks him to go early, said: "I am not a racist. I never have been and I never will be.

"The email in question was sent to me by an old friend. I forwarded it to personal friends. It has nothing to do with my position as a politician at all.

"It happened in January 2006. I didn't recall what the content was until it was shown to me. I get thousands of emails, some I delete, some I forward on.

"Sending this email around is not the cleverest thing I have ever done. No offence was meant to anyone at all. I find it astounding that someone, somewhere copied it and sent it to another district councillor anonymously a year later than it was sent by me.

"I offer my sincerest apologies to anyone who may have been offended by the email. It was never my intention to cause upset or dismay. There was no malice intended at all."

Cllr Latchford has lived and worked with people of all ethnic backgrounds all over the world during his career in the Army and as a civilian.

He added: "For example, I was seconded to the Malaysian Army as chief instructor at its office and trade school and I worked with Malay, Chinese and Indian people. I was congratulated for the way I integrated into Malaysian society.

"I visit all parts of the world still and have many friends of all races from around the globe.

"My personal crusade is against anti-social behaviour and I have worked closely with the police for the last four years since I was elected to make Thanet a safer and happier place in which to work and live."

During his 26 years in the Army, Cllr Latchford served on three tours of Northern Ireland during the height of the 'troubles' in the early 1970s, saw action in The Falklands during the 1982 conflict, and was also posted to Hong Kong, Cyprus and Germany.

Thanet council leader Cllr Sandy Ezekiel said: "I am of mixed race with a Jewish and Scottish background. I am well aware of racisim.

"To my mind Roger Latchford is not a racist. In fact I would go as far to say he despises racism. He was deeply distraught at the suggestion that anyone could consider him to be racially intolerant.

"We all get thousands of emails a year and I doubt if many people can recall the full content of information they send to friends.

"Roger has carried himself in a dignified and professional manner since he was elected and has driven forward many of our important initiatives for the betterment of the area for all people."