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Kemi Badenoch has suspended one of her Conservative candidates in the upcoming local elections after a Byline Times investigation revealed he has posted a series of racist Tweets, including demands for British MPs to “go back to Pakistan”.
William Jackson, who is listed as standing for the party in North Harrow in London, repeatedly posted messages to non-white British MPs of Asian origin, demanding that they leave the country, or be deported.
The messages, which were sent in reply to posts on Elon Musk’s X platform, include:
- Multiple posts telling Apsana Begum MP, who was born in London, to “go back to Bangladesh”
- Posts telling Lancashire born Adnan Hussain MP that “we need to bully you back to Pakistan”
- Posts telling Zarah Sultana, who was born in Birmingham, to “go back to Pakistan” and calls for her to be deported
- A post telling the Bedfordshire-born Labour MP Jeevun Sandher that he is not British
- A post telling the Bradford-born Labour MP Imran Hussain that he is also not British.
- Posts suggesting that the British boxer Anthony Joshua and the singer songwriter Dua Lipa are not British.
- A reply to a post appearing to show a black woman committing a crime, with the response “windrush working out well then”
Jackson was selected by the party to stand for election in Harrow, which is one of the most diverse boroughs in the country.
His posts appear to overwhelmingly target British politicians of Asian origin. At the time of the last census, 45% of Harrow’s residents listed themselves as being British Asian – with a number of them also being represented among the Conservative party’s elected councillors in the borough.
Among the posts responded to by Jackson, include one by the Shadow Lord Chancellor Nick Timothy, which shared an image of a voter communication sent by Tower Hamlets Council in Urdu, to which Jackson replied: “photocopy and give to your 700 cousins that live in a two bedroom flat”.
Timothy recently hit the headlines after posting a series of Tweets suggesting that the annual Iftar celebrations in London’s Trafalgar Square were an “act of domination” by Muslims.
The Shadow Minister was defended by Badenoch, who said he had been defending “British values”.
Responding to Byline Times’ investigation, Labour demanded that Badenoch sack her candidate for North Harrow.
“These remarks are vile, racist and utterly disqualifying. Telling British MPs to ‘go back to Pakistan’ is naked racism, full stop,” a Labour London spokesperson said.
“Anyone who speaks like this is unfit for public office. The people of North Harrow will be furious that a candidate with these views is seeking to represent them.
“Kemi Badenoch cannot hide behind silence. She must sack this candidate immediately.”
A Conservative spokesperson said Jackson had been suspended.
“These apparent comments are wholly unacceptable, and this individual has been suspended from the Conservative Party pending an investigation.
“Whilst this process is rightfully confidential, the Party has withdrawn support from their campaign with immediate effect.”
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