The leader and deputy leader of Thanet council have apologised after a heated incident in a Margate clothes shop.

Cllrs Sandy Ezekiel and Roger Latchford, the council’s Conservative leader and deputy leader respectively, were investigated by the standards committee after a complaint by Labour councillor Iris Johnston.

It followed an altercation in the Edinburgh Woollen Mill last June, when Cllr Johnston had been invited to receive a petition from local traders and shoppers.

Cllr Johnston alleged that Cllr Latchford, who entered the shop with Cllr Ezekiel, had behaved in an aggressive, intimidating and disrespectful manner towards her.

In its report, the standards committee said that Cllr Latchford should have known his actions would have caused “a very public and very fractious confrontation.”

It criticised the level of “unnecessary political squabbling” in Thanet and added: “It appears...that such altercations are not isolated incidents.”

The report also found that Cllr Latchford had attempted to take hold of the petition and acted in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing the council into disrepute.

However, the committee rejected Cllr Johnston’s claims that she was treated disrespectfully or that his behaviour amounted to bullying.

In a letter to other councillors, Cllr Latchford said: “I should like to apologise to Cllr Johnston for any offence caused and for upsetting her, and to the council for allowing this matter to arise.”

Cllr Ezekiel also apologised and admitted: “My behaviour...may have been unnecessarily forthright and my choice of words may not have been ideal.”

Cllr Johnston said she had received a personal letter of apology in addition to the open letter. Her complaints, which were first made nearly eight months ago, are addressed in a 326-page report to councillors.