The leader of Harrow Council accused the borough’s Conservative Group of making “continued and personal attacks” on one of his cabinet members.

Cllr Graham Henson defended regeneration and planning lead member Cllr Keith Ferry’s position following criticism from the opposition.

It came after Cllr Paul Osborn, leader of Harrow Conservatives, said he had a “track record of failure” when it comes to regeneration in the borough.

He asked Cllr Henson what deadlines and objectives he had put in place for the proposed new civic centre and how he would performance manage his colleague.

The council leader described this question as “unacceptable” and suggested Cllr Osborn was breaching the councillors’ code of conduct.

He said: “I find this continued and personal attack on Keith offensive and totally unacceptable.

“Keith is a valued member of the Labour Party; he is a valued and respected member of my cabinet.

“I will not allow this vendetta to carry on. Quite frankly, I fervently believe that all councillors are entitled to be treated with respect, and therefore these personal attacks will no longer be tolerated in Harrow.”

Cllr Osborn explained that it was his job, as leader of the opposition in Harrow, to scrutinise the administration.

He reiterated his call for “clear, accountable objectives” so that councillors could be judged on their performance.

“This is so fundamental. I will not apologise for doing my job, which is to hold the administration and portfolio holders to account,” he said.

“You can cancel as many meetings as you want but I will continue to do so – not in a disrespectful way, not in a way that is personal, but on your job and how you perform.”

The Conservative Group put forward a motion of no confidence in Cllr Ferry earlier this year.

It was rejected at a full council meeting, with the borough’s Labour Group defending his role in the borough’s regeneraion.

Cllr Henson said he would no longer accept questions on this subject on future cabinet agendas.