Kemi Badenoch is under pressure to drop former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine as a Conservative candidate in a local election, after Baroness Berger, who was subjected to a "deeply antisemitic and misogynistic" attack by him, demanded his removal.
Bonehill-Paine's criminal past
Bonehill-Paine, who previously described himself as a "nationalist, fascist, theorist and supporter of white rights" and even a "proud antisemite", was convicted in 2016 of racially-aggravated harassment against then-Labour MP Luciana Berger, now Baroness Berger. He was jailed for two years, and the judge imposed a criminal behaviour order allowing police to monitor his internet activity for five years after his release.
The conviction followed five hate-filled blog posts about Baroness Berger, in which he described her as "a dominatrix" and "a rodent". He also served a prison sentence for inciting racial hatred after promoting a neo-Nazi rally in Golders Green, north London, in 2014.
Baroness Berger's response
Baroness Berger said: "This case still haunts me." In a post on X, she wrote: "He was convicted for racial harassment for 5 specific blogs. But that wasn’t all - he’d published *reams* of deeply racist, misoginistic and pornographic material about me."
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "There's a big difference between going back into society and teaching others possibly about what you did and why it was wrong, to making the leap to standing for public office. I think there's a massive distinction there." She added: "This is a man that engaged and indulged in a sustained campaign, not just against me, but about many others. This man has a record of offences, including public order offences, things that he committed, not just against me as a Jewish woman, that were deeply anti-Semitic, racist, misogynistic, pornographic, but also extended it to other communities, including the Muslim community. And I think that we need to have a bar when it comes to standing for public office, and I strongly believe today that this individual falls very, very short of that."
Bonehill-Paine's defence
Bonehill-Paine, who is due to stand in the new Crewkerne South district in Somerset next year, said his convictions are spent and he holds "Home Office certification for my counter-extremism work". He added that for the past eight years he has "worked to combat antisemitism and extremism".
He is the creator of the satire website Crewkerne Gazette, which posts AI-generated clips, often satirical songs about political figures. A video on Angela Rayner's stamp duty row received millions of views.
Badenoch's backing
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch backed the move, saying Bonehill-Paine has "shown contrition for his crimes". She said: "So I want to be very clear, and I think people can look at me and know that I'm not a person who would be recruiting neo-Nazis. Josh is someone who actually has been certified by the Home Office to train police officers on anti-Semitism and on countering extremism."
She added: "This is not just someone that we've picked up who's a convicted criminal, this somebody who is actively working to help communities, especially Jewish communities and this is what I want to see."
Criticism from Labour
A Labour spokesperson said: "Kemi Badenoch is selecting a former neo-Nazi who was convicted for harassing a Jewish MP, while boasting about kicking out moderate Tories who back net zero. It's a total disgrace." They added: "This tells you everything you need to know about the modern Conservative Party. They haven't just failed to learn the lessons of their worst ever defeat - under Kemi Badenoch they're becoming more extreme and more out of touch with Britain."
A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Mr Bonehill-Paine's past actions were indefensible. He was rightly punished and served his sentence. Mr Bonehill-Paine has explained that he has sought to make amends through counter-extremism work. The Conservative Party believes in rehabilitation and that people can change, but all members must adhere to our code of conduct and our values. Ultimately the decision to elect him will be one for the public."
