Liberal Democrat councillors refused to speak at Kingston’s full council meeting this week after a motion calling for leader Kevin Davis to resign or quit his PR job was blocked by officers over a legal 'threat'.

They wanted Conservative Coun Davis to resign as council leader or as chief operating officer of Cratus Communications, the PR company he co-founded, claiming there was a perceived conflict of interest.

The Lib Dem councillors, who admit Coun Davis has done nothing wrong, wore t-shirts emblazoned with the words: "Silenced: I’ve upset the people in power" and refused to talk or vote throughout proceedings.

The t-shirts were a reference to a tweet Coun Davis sent to opponents of Kingston's old post office redevelopment, where he warned them: "Don't upset the people in power".

March 11: Kingston Council leader tweets campaigners "don't upset the people in power"

Surrey Comet:

Coun Davis denied he was involved in blocking the motion, but said: "It was just childish. How is that helping the people of Kingston? I despair of politics sometimes.

"The motion was blocked because it is defamatory. I was not party to the discussions the council had, that was down to their own legal advice.

"I also received legal advice and my lawyers told me their motion was defamatory. I have chosen not to take legal action against the Lib Dems."

Legal threats in relation to council meetings are unusual because of laws which protect free speech.

Qualified privilege gives anyone speaking in a council meeting protection from being sued for what they say is made in the honest belief that it is true and that the motivation for making the statement is not improper or malicious.

From last Friday: Cratus or Council: Kingston Council leader rubbishes blocked Lib Dem ultimatum 

But it was blocked by council officers, who believed the motion was potentially defamatory.

Mayor Ken Smith, a Conservative councillor who holds the politically neutral ceremonial position and chairs council meetings, said afterward in a statement council officers considered the motion "on legal advice, considered to put the council at risk of legal challenge".

"This was because an aspect of the motion was considered to be potentially defamatory."

After the meeting, Liberal Democrat leader Liz Green said her party were 'standing up for democracy'.

She said: "The motion didn’t suggest Kevin had done anything wrong. It is a question we are perfectly within our rights to ask and it is wrong that it was blocked."

But the move was criticised by both Conservative and Labour councillors at the meeting.

Labour's Norbiton councillor Linsey Cottington said: "I am furious and appalled by their behaviour.

"There are other ways of complaining without embarrassing the council like that."

And outgoing mayor Ken Smith ended the meeting by saying: "I am very disappointed. This has been an embarrassment."

The embarrassment was more acute for the council as they had an international visitor - the Mayor of Oldenburg, Kingston's twin town in Germany.

Mr Smith later said: "The action was particularly unfortunate as we had a number of visitors at the meeting who must have got a very poor impression of the council."

Coun Davis was elected as leader shortly after the party won the council back from Liberal Democrat rule last summer, under former leader Howard Jones.

After being elected, Coun Davis said Cratus would no longer take any PR clients in Kingston to avoid conflicts of interest.

Cratus’ past clients have included developers CNM Estates and Amro, the company behind the student flats at 1 Penryhn Road.

It also worked with Hydro Properties and Cascina during the companies bid to build a £30m floating homes scheme on the Seething Wells filter beds in Surbiton.