A SENIOR Birmingham city councillor has apologised to colleagues after calling a rival a ‘t**t’ during an email exchange.

Matt Bennett, the Tory head of Birmingham’s children’s services, attacked Labour councillor Tony Kennedy in a row over the council’s road contractor Amey.

He said: “You really are a complete t**t, aren’t you?” after Coun Kennedy had complained that Amey would not send officials to evening community meetings over safety fears.

The exchange was copied in to all 120 city councillors, an Amey highways official and senior council officers and provoked a swift response and demand for an apology from Labour’s Cath Grundy to which he replied: “I sincerely apologise to any woman who was offended by my comment. To compare Coun Kennedy to any part of a woman’s anatomy is insulting to women and that was not my intention.”

The Tory, who was given the job of turning round Birmingham’s struggling children’s social care department last May, was last night unrepentant about abusing his rival.

“I have apologised for offending anyone else by using that word, but I stand by the comment that Coun Kennedy was being stupid and offensive.

“He reacted in a high-handed and pompous way to a council contractor who was trying to safeguard her staff in response to a specific incident.”