Badenoch told to drop ex-neo-Nazi Tory candidate who subjected MP to 'deeply antisemitic and misogynistic' attack

Badenoch told to drop ex-neo-Nazi Tory candidate who subjected MP to 'deeply antisemitic and misogynistic' attack Joshua Bonehill-Paine previously dubbed himself a 'fascist' and 'proud antisemite' - he is now running in a local election as Kemi Badenoch says her party believes in 'second chances' Kemi Badenoch must drop a former neo-Nazi local election candidate, demanded former MP Luciana Berger, who was subjected to a "deeply antisemitic and misogynistic" attack by Joshua Bonehill-Paine. The convicted racist who was found guilty in 2016 of launching an antisemitic attack on then-Labour MP Berger. But he's now been selected as a Conservative candidate for a local election. Former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine has served a prison sentence for racial hatred and was found guilty of racially-aggravated harassment against then Labour MP Luciana Berger, now Baroness Berger, in 2016. The Baroness slammed the decision to allow Bonehill-Paine to run and said: "This case still haunts me." Bonehill-Paine is also the creator of satire website Crewkerne Gazette, which creates AI clips mostly of politicians. The convicted former far-right racist is due to stand as a Conservative candidate in a local council election in Somerset, for the new Crewkerne South district, next year. Bonehill-Paine has responded by saying he now works to combat antisemitism and extremism. He was then convicted of racially harassing Baroness Berger after publishing five disturbing hate-filled blog posts on Baroness Berger which described the then-MP for Liverpool Waverley as "a dominatrix" and "a rodent". He was jailed in 2016 for two years, and the judge imposed a criminal behaviour order which allowed police to monitor his internet activity for five years after his release. Baroness Berger, in a X post, 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." This morning, Baroness Berger told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "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. "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 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 previously described himself as a "nationalist, fascist, theorist and supporter of white rights" and even a "proud antisemite". He claimed to be executive member of the party's Yeovil branch and was working as an events organiser for them. He also reportedly claimed the branch and Conservatives party were fully aware of his past. Bonehill-Paine, in 2014, was convicted on a malicious communication charge after admitting launching an internet hoax claiming a Leicester pub had refused to serve British armed forces members to avoid upsetting the local immigrant community. He was spared jail and handed a community order. In a separate incident, in 2014, he was also convicted and jailed for more than three years for inciting racial hatred after promoting a neo-Nazi rally in Golders Green, north London. Bonehill-Paine told the Guardian that his convictions have been 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 now also posts AI-generated clips on his Crewkerne Gazette pages which are often satirical songs on political figures. Bonehill-Paine has often targeted Labour politicians and a video on Angela Rayner's stamp duty row received millions of views. The former-deputy Prime Minister settled her tax affairs with HMTC and paid £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty. This move has been criticised by other parties, with a Labour spokesperson saying: "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. "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." Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, this morning, backed the move to put the former neo-Nazi up for the local election and said he has "shown contrition for his crimes". Badenoch 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." The leader said she wanted to see "second chances for good people", adding: "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." 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." The Mirror has reached out to Somerset Conservatives and Joshua Bonehill-Paine for comment.