Gerry Reynolds, a top council official, has caused outrage by claiming he would shoot those who complained about Jeremy Clarkson’s controversial comments that strikers should be shot.
Mr Reynolds, Highland Council’s events and promotions manager, put his thoughts on the Top Gear star’s thoughts on a website.
He said: “I have decided that if I am ever put in charge that I would like to line all the UK’s copycat complainers up against a wall, tell them that I have had enough, and shoot them myself.”
Mr Reynolds, who joined the strikes last week, then joked: “Of course, that is a joke, I don’t own a gun, never want to, and would rather use a sledgehammer.
“The reason why I want rid of these people is simple. Just as I take the freedom to walk across a picket line as seriously as the right to stand on one, the freedom to express jokes and opinions is very dear to me.
“The moment creativity is constrained by the opinions and values of copycat complainers, religious fanatics or people trying to sell newspapers, we are in seriously deep trouble."
