A Harrow councillor has demanded an apology from the French police who racially abused a Kenton man.

Councillor Mark Versallion (Conservative, Harrow-on-the-Hill) said he had been sickened to learn how Sri Lankan-born Thambimuthu Selvaratnam, 57, a British citizen for 28 years, was hauled off a train and insulted by border police, who refused to believe his passport was authentic.

Mr Selvaratnam, of Windermere Avenue, had been returning to England from a holiday in Italy when the incident happened at the Italian-French border.

Six officers jeered him for wearing a hat bearing the Union Flag.

After suffering these indignities, the Royal Mail worker was eventually released, but with no apology, and he missed his train connection and had to spend the night sleeping rough on a station bench.

An angry Councillor Versallion said: "What is to stop this happening again to other British citizens if these police officers are not held accountable?

"I would ask that the French Embassy is not allowed to brush this under the carpet and that pressure is brought to bear to help secure an apology from the Police Aux Frontieres.

"The few bad apples need to be confronted wherever we find them, lest they become the majority."

After previously stating that "the process may take time", no-one at the French Embassy was available for comment on Councillor Versallion's demand.