Two Hounslow councillors are facing criticism after social media posts surfaced that appeared to downplay human-caused climate change, coming as London grapples with a severe drought and record-breaking heat. Councillor Darshan Nagi, Conservative representative for Hounslow East, wrote in a Facebook comment that climate change is a "natural process," while Hounslow Reform Group Leader Councillor Tony Brown reposted tweets describing the climate emergency as a "big hoax."
Councillor's Facebook comment sparks outrage
In a comment on a Brentford Today Facebook post, Cllr Nagi wrote: "It started from ice age and haz been happening since upto now and it will carry on NOTHING WILL STOP IT. ALL THESE ORGANISATIONS WHO ARE HYPING UP CLIMATE CHANGE AND TAKING MONEY IN DIFFERENT TAXES AND [CHARGES] AND PAYING THEMSELVES HIGH WAGEZ AND GIVING FUNDING TO MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES TO PREVENT [CLIMATE] CHANGE. I WOULD CALM THEM…………."
The comment, still visible on Facebook, drew immediate backlash from residents and political opponents. Cllr Jack Emsley, Leader of the Hounslow Conservative Group, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that Nagi's views do not represent the wider group or its policy.
Nagi defends remarks as 'clumsy'
In a written statement, Cllr Nagi rejected claims he said climate change is not real, calling his comment "clumsy." He explained: "The comment on Facebook doesn’t represent the view of the party or the Conservative Group. I was trying to convey that climate change is a big process that won’t be stopped by one country alone pursuing net zero."
He added: "I appreciate my comment was quite clumsy, but at no point have I said climate change isn’t real - rather, the current policies that the government claims are supposed to tackle climate change are in fact about raising revenue as opposed to mitigating the impact of our changing climate."
Brown's 'nuanced' stance on climate
Cllr Brown, who leads the Hounslow Reform Group, reposted tweets on X that claimed climate change is a hoax and implied scientists are "hiding something from you." When approached by LDRS, he described his view as "quite nuanced," stating: "The fact that I have liked a tweet does NOT make it my definitive position on the subject."
He elaborated: "What I do believe is that prosperity through growth makes any society much more effective in being able to mitigate climate change. And it is in that context that net zero measures having given us the highest industrial electricity prices in the world is doubly unfortunate. Declarations of climate emergency are more performative than substantial and risk wasting hard-pressed taxpayer's money. The future with AI is looking very energy intensive. That makes us being uncompetitive in terms of electricity prices an economic disaster in the making, a slow motion car crash for the next generation's future prospects."
Notably, Cllr Brown did repost the tweets, not merely like them, as X users cannot see others' likes.
Labour councillor hits back
Councillor Salman Shaheen accused the Tories of "burying their heads in the sand." He said: "If the Tories want to keep on pretending they're an administration in waiting, a word of advice. Don't Look Up was meant to be a warning, not a guidebook."
He highlighted the council's climate actions: "While they're burying their heads in the sand in the face of droughts and record-breaking heatwaves, we're getting on with preparing our borough for all eventualities with a Climate Change Resilience Plan to protect our communities from heatwaves and floods, and planting tens of thousands of trees, which will help cool our public spaces. And we’re actively playing our part to bring down carbon emissions through our Climate Emergency Action Plan, decarbonising our buildings and operations to reach net zero by 2030."
He added: "By installing solar panels on school rooftops, building a new Hounslow Heat Network and forging a Strategic Energy Partnership, we’re bringing in green investment into the borough, creating good local jobs, and lowering costs for businesses and residents, all while tackling climate change."
Drought context
The controversy comes as Londoners face hosepipe bans amid a drought following an exceptionally hot summer, with some areas experiencing up to 42 consecutive days without measurable rainfall as of August 2026. Climate scientists link such extreme weather patterns to human-induced climate change, making the councillors' comments particularly sensitive.
