An SNP councillor was warned to watch his language after he accused political rivals of “wanting to kill people” during a debate on independence.

Will Mylet was scolded by Provost Lorraine Cameron after a lengthy rant in which he claimed the Labour and Conservative parties were “more than happy” to plough cash into nuclear weapons and have “the ability to commit genocide.”

He told his rivals: “You want to kill people, you don’t want to feed people. That’s the difference and that’s what I want to change.

“I want Scotland to be away from nuclear weapons and your parties support Trident on the Clyde.

“They will never remove it, it will never appear in your manifesto.”

Councillor Mylet, who represents Paisley East and Central, then shifted his focus to Conservative austerity, adding: “This amounts to no more than the murder of the people that you’re here to look after.”

As tensions began to rise in the council chambers, Conservative group leader Neill Graham interjected with a point of order.

“I’m not getting accused of this,” he told Councillor Mylet. “You need to watch your language.

“You can’t accuse fellow members of killing people.”

Councillor Mylet was reprimanded by Provost Cameron, who was chairing the full meeting of Renfrewshire Council.

She said: “Councillor Mylet, please watch the language you use when you’re making your contribution.

“It has upset people in the chamber.”

However, the SNP man refused to relent.

He declared: “That’s why I’m passionate about independence, because I believe we can do much better.

“We won’t take things out on the poorest people in our society, we will look after them.

“The Tories will not and that’s why I have the views and opinions that I have of them.”

The code of conduct for councillors stresses the need for them to respect fellow members and treat them with courtesy.

It is understood that the Conservative group’s leadership consider Councillor Mylet’s comments to have fallen short of such provisions.

They now intend to raise the matter with the Standards Commission for Scotland — the ethics watchdog for those involved in public life — and write a letter to Provost Cameron to express concerns about management of the meeting.

Councillor Graham said after the meeting: “We are disgusted by the comments. They have no place in civilised society and debate.

“We all have points of view that will differ but we don’t think that language is constructive in debate.

“If the SNP want independence, that type of language won’t win people over.”

When contacted after the meeting, Councillor Mylet said he was “surprised” the Conservative group have “taken exception” to his comments.

During the debate itself, 22 councillors backed a motion supporting a second independence referendum, while 19 voted for an amendment which said it should not be a priority. There were two abstentions.