Kemi Badenoch chooses former neo-Nazi as Tory candidate

Kemi Badenoch has said her party “believes in second chances”, after the Conservatives selected as a local election candidate a man who was once jailed for harassing a Jewish former MP.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine posted on social media that he was “tremendously proud to announce” he has been chosen to stand for election to Somerset Council, in the Crewkerne South ward.

Mr Bonehill-Paine was jailed in 2016, after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment.

He wrote several blog posts about the former Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree Baroness Luciana Berger, labelling her “an evil money-grabber” with a “deep-rooted hatred of men”.

In one post, he claimed the number of Jewish Labour MPs was a “problem”.

He was previously jailed for producing an ad illustrated with a picture of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz which promised “an absolute gas” at a rally in Golders Green, north London.

Asked about his selection, Mrs Badenoch on Tuesday told reporters: “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 antisemitism and on countering extremism.

“Yes, he is somebody who had been previously convicted but he is someone who has shown contrition for his crimes, has been rehabilitated and is spending every day working to solve the very problem which he knew that he had caused previously. He’s going up and down the country training people."

Earlier this year, Channel 4 News unmasked Mr Bonehill-Paine as the anonymous man behind the viral satirical X page the Crewkerne Gazette.

The page, which has more than 40,000 followers on the social media platform, features AI-generated videos depicting real-life politicians.

Mr Bonehill-Paine on Monday wrote on his Facebook page: “Crewkerne is a fantastic town. Misterton is fantastic.“Our villages are fantastic. The people are incredible.

“But the Liberal Democrats have let us down very badly!!”He added: “I founded the The Crewkerne Gazette and put our town on the map.

“Now it is time to put Crewkerne first at County Hall.”He vowed to “restore” the town and “bring back pride”.

Karen Newman, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, criticised his selection, saying “it beggars belief”.

She added: “We have contacted the Conservative Party to set out our concerns and call on them to rescind his selection and review their vetting processes.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote: “Is this part of the ‘new generation’ of Conservative candidates Kemi Badenoch is promising?”

Mr Bonehill-Paine, using his account Crewkerne Man, later wrote on social media that he had been invited to stand for Mr Farage’s party, adding: “It’s telling that those most angered by my selection as a local Conservative candidate are Reform.”

In a statement, he said: “Eight years ago, I made the decision to confront and combat antisemitism.“I felt enormous grief and shame over the way I had treated Jewish people in this country.

“What I did was utterly indefensible and there can be no excuses for it.

“Since then, I have come to know many people within the Jewish community and have dedicated myself to challenging the wave of hatred British Jews continue to face.

“That is a commitment I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”

The social media user also warned “British Jews are currently being failed disgracefully” and continued: “Those of us who once embraced antisemitism have a particular responsibility to expose and challenge it because we know from experience what a false, poisonous and destructive ideology it is.”

He said Mrs Badenoch’s comment “reflects one of the main reasons” he joined the Conservative Party, adding: “I firmly believe in giving people second chances when they have demonstrably changed, taken responsibility for their actions and can use their experiences to help make our country better.”

Mr Bonehill-Paine’s convictions are thought to be spent. The next Somerset Council poll is due in May 2027.

He was previously jailed for producing an ad illustrated with a picture of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz which promised “an absolute gas” at a rally in Golders Green, north London.

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