Ex neo-Nazi activist selected as Tory council candidate

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, jailed for neo-Nazi activism and racism offences, has been selected as a Tory council candidate in Somerset after the party said he deserved a second chance.

A man jailed for neo-Nazi activism has been selected as a Conservative candidate for the council elections after being offered a "second chance" by the party. Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who now says he speaks out against extremism, will stand in the new Somerset Council seat of Crewkerne South in 2027.

Bonehill-Paine spent three years in prison for posting antisemitic material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally, and a year later he was convicted of racially harassing then-Labour MP Luciana Berger. He said he wanted to "give back" to a community which had supported him.

A man with short, coiffed hair, and a short ginger beard is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a blue suit and tie. — Image caption, Joshua Bonehill-Paine will stand as a candidate in next year's council elections

Bonehill-Paine, who was behind the online satirical project The Crewkerne Gazette, also holds previous convictions for assaulting a police officer, burglary of a police station and malicious communications.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said he had "shown contrition for his crimes" but the Board of Deputies of British Jews said the move "beggars belief".

Why has the Conservative Party backed him?

Kemi Badenoch said Bonehill-Paine had been working to address the problem he had previously caused and that the Conservative Party believed in giving people a second chance.

"He is spending every day working to solve the very problem which he knew he had caused previously.

"He's going up and down the country training people and the Conservative Party believes in second chances.

"This is not just someone that we've picked up who is a convicted criminal - this is somebody who is actively working to help communities, especially Jewish communities."

Kemi Badenoch is pictured standing in a white shirt, wearing a yellow high-vis police vest over the top. She is looking at a reporter off camera in mid-speech. Behind her is a blurred street scene. — Image caption, Kemi Badenoch supports Bonehill-Paine in his candidacy

What has Bonehill-Paine said about his past?

The content creator said his previous views were "indefensible". He said that when he was first released from prison in 2018, he was supported by many people in his local community who understood that he had made serious mistakes and wanted to change his life.

Bonehill-Paine said he decided to reform his extremist views after hearing about the murder of MP Jo Cox during his prison sentence.

"I felt an enormous sense of emotion - of grief and of anger that this lady had been murdered by a far-right extremist," he said.

"This was a mother, a wife, who had been viciously murdered in cold blood and I started to question why it was that I was supporting a right-wing ideology."

He said he undertook a de-radicalisation programme and now delivers counter-extremism sessions around the UK.

Why has the selection been criticised?

Karen Newman, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the decision "beggars belief" and called on the Conservative Party to rescind his selection and review its vetting processes.

"We have contacted the Conservative Party to set out our concerns and call on them to rescind his selection and review their vetting processes," she said.

Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance, whose Yeovil constituency includes Crewkerne, said residents deserved confidence in those seeking to represent them and that public service was built on trust.

"Residents deserve to feel confident in those seeking to represent them.

"Public service is built on trust, and elected representatives have a responsibility to bring communities together and uphold the highest standards in public life."

Mr Dance added that it was now for the Conservative Party to explain why it believed this candidate was fit to serve, and what that said about its approach to inclusivity and respect.

"it is now for the Conservative Party to explain why it believes this candidate is fit to serve, and what this says about its approach to inclusivity and respect".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also questioned the decision, writing: "Is this part of the 'new generation' of Conservative candidates Kemi Badenoch is promising?"