Key facts
- UK Minister Kemi Badenoch defended the selection of Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi, as a Conservative candidate for local elections.
- Bonehill-Paine was previously jailed for antisemitism and convicted of racially aggravated harassment.
- Badenoch cited Bonehill-Paine's rehabilitation and work against antisemitism as reasons for his candidacy.
- Bonehill-Paine has withdrawn his candidacy for local elections.
- Bonehill-Paine will serve as an unpaid anti-extremism adviser to Badenoch's commission.
- Baroness Luciana Berger described Bonehill-Paine's appointment as an insult.
UK Minister Kemi Badenoch defended the Conservative Party's decision to select Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi previously jailed for antisemitism, as a candidate for local elections. Badenoch cited Bonehill-Paine's rehabilitation and his subsequent work against antisemitism as reasons for his candidacy.
However, Bonehill-Paine has since withdrawn his candidacy for the Somerset Council seat of Crewkerne South. He stated that his local election candidacy would prompt opposition parties to focus on his past rather than his current work. He added that his experience would be better used supporting Badenoch in her mission to combat antisemitism and extremism.
Bonehill-Paine has been offered an unpaid position as an anti-extremism adviser to the Conservative Party's Culture and Integration Commission, focusing on preventing young men from being radicalised. Baroness Luciana Berger, the former Labour MP whom Bonehill-Paine racially harassed, described the appointment as an "insult" and "no better than allowing him to stand as a council candidate."
Badenoch stated that she was glad Bonehill-Paine would work with her and the party on tackling radicalisation, adding that "piling on them and trying to get them cancelled may be sport for other parties, but this is a different Conservative Party." Reform UK criticized the adviser role offer, calling it "alarming news for the Jewish community in Britain." The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed Bonehill-Paine's withdrawal as a council candidate and urged parties to ensure a robust stance on racism and discrimination.