FORMER NEO-NAZI SELECTED AS CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE IN SOMERSET

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a man with convictions for posting antisemitic material and harassing a Jewish MP, has been selected as a Conservative candidate for Crewkerne South in next year's Somerset Council elections. Bonehill-Paine said he was "tremendously proud" to have been selected by the party. The Conservative Party said his past actions were "indefensible" but insisted he has "sought to make amends through counter-extremism work". Bonehill-Paine stated that the party branch and Conservative Party leadership were fully aware of his previous convictions.

Bonehill-Paine was jailed for three years in 2015 after spreading antisemitic material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally in Golders Green, London, which included a picture of Auschwitz and Nazi imagery. In 2016 he was found guilty of harassing former MP Luciana Berger, posting online articles calling her a "dominatrix" and "an evil money-grabber", and posting offensive pictures including an antisemitic caricature with her face superimposed. He also has convictions for assaulting a police officer, burglary of a police station, and a 2014 conviction for making a false claim about a Leicester pub. Bonehill-Paine now runs a political satire account posting AI videos and describes himself as an executive member of the Conservatives' Yeovil branch working as an events organiser.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Bonehill-Paine "has been certified by the Home Office to train police officers on anti-Semitism and on countering extremism" and described him as "someone who has shown contrition for his crimes, has been rehabilitated". Ms Badenoch stated: "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." The Conservative Party said all members must adhere to its code of conduct and values.