UK Conservatives defend picking former neo-Nazi as election candidate
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UK Conservatives defend picking former neo-Nazi as election candidate

Economy World


The leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi who had been jailed for hate crimes as a local election candidate, saying on Wednesday that he was rehabilitated and could help fight ‌antisemitism.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2015 of racially aggravated harassment of Luciana Berger, then a Labour member of parliament, and had also been imprisoned for stirring up hatred against a north London Jewish community.

His selection as a candidate for an election to Somerset council in southwest England drew condemnation from other parties and Jewish groups.

Kemi Badenoch said what Bonehill-Paine did was “appalling” but he had disavowed his previous views and ⁠was fit to run for a local council, where he would be “looking at parking, sorting out bins”.

“It’s not a ‌national platform … This man is showing that he’s more than contrite,” Badenoch told the BBC, referring to Bonehill-Paine’s work with anti-radicalisation programme Prevent, adding she wanted to build a ‌movement against antisemitism in Britain.

Britain’s Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaks to the press outside Westminster City Hall in London in May. Photo: Reuters
Britain’s Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaks to the press outside Westminster City Hall in London in May. Photo: Reuters
Antisemitism has been on the rise in Britain for years ⁠and many parties have had ⁠to drop candidates or expel politicians.