LONDON — Former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has been expelled from the occasion after he in contrast coronavirus vaccines to the Holocaust.
Bridgen’s expulsion, which comes three months after he was stripped of the Conservative whip within the Commons, was first reported by the Sun newspaper Wednesday.
A Conservative Party spokesperson stated that Bridgen “was expelled from the Conservative Party on 12th April following the recommendation of a disciplinary panel.”
“He has 28 days from this date to appeal,” the spokesperson added.
In a now-deleted tweet posted in January, Bridgen shared a hyperlink to a vaccine-related article on the far-right weblog ZeroHedge and stated: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.” Chief Whip Simon Hart promptly eliminated the Tory whip.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led condemnation of the remarks, branding them “utterly unacceptable.”
The MP has been more and more crucial of the COVID-19 vaccine in latest months, though his claims have been repeatedly pulled up by fact-checking organizations.
Following his expulsion, Bridgen tweeted Wednesday that the choice “confirms the toxic culture which plagues our political system.”
“Above all else this is an issue of freedom of speech. No elected member of parliament should ever be penalised for speaking on behalf of those who have no voice,” he added.
