Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi activist jailed for racially harassing ex-Labour MP Luciana Berger, has stepped down as a Conservative candidate for Somerset Council, despite receiving backing from party leader Kemi Badenoch.
Withdrawal announcement
In a statement, Bonehill-Paine said: "The last 24 hours have shown that a lot of people do not understand how terrible I feel about the things I did when I was much younger. I know that my previous actions continue to cause pain in the Jewish community. I had thought that getting involved in my local council and working hard for my community was a good way to show how much I have changed and that I want to give something back."
His decision follows a backlash over his selection, with Baroness Berger, who gave evidence in his trial when she was six months pregnant, describing his offences as "deeply anti-Semitic, racist, misogynistic, pornographic". She said the case still "haunts" her and warned he should not "have any role in public life".
Badenoch's defence
Earlier, Ms Badenoch had defended the selection, arguing that Bonehill-Paine had been rehabilitated and now worked to tackle racism and antisemitism.
Baroness Berger told the Tory leader she had "got this very, very wrong". "This case still haunts me," she wrote on X. "I feel a bit sick reading well-known commentators debate his selection today and say that 'these are precisely the people we need in public office'. For the avoidance of doubt I don't believe this man should have any role in public life - because of both his racism and his view of women. Kemi Badenoch you've got this very, very wrong."
Background of offences
Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2016 of racially harassing Baroness Berger after publishing five hate-filled blog posts about her, in which he described the then-MP for Liverpool Waverley as "a dominatrix" and "a rodent". He also said she was "an evil money-grabber" with a "deep-rooted hatred of men". He was jailed for two years, and a criminal behaviour order allowed police to monitor his internet activity for five years after release.
On Wednesday morning, Baroness Berger said he falls "very, very short" of the bar for public office. "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," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"I think there's a massive distinction there. And this is not just one-off hurty words. 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."
