The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council have declined the Conservative Party’s invitation to meet with a former neo-Nazi with criminal convictions for antisemitic hatred.

In a joint statement, the communal groups added:”The severity of Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s crimes targeting Luciana Berger and others mean that he still faces ongoing legal restrictions.

“Whilst we do believe in the possibility of rehabilitation, this should not in this case entail selection as a candidate for a major political party, and the impact of this decision on the victims ought to be a central consideration. ”

Instead, the JLC and Board said they  have agreed to meet the Conservative Party to discuss their decision-making processes and to urge them to rescind this decision.”

Luciana Berger. Photo: Wikipedia

Earlier Kemi Badenoch defended the decision to allow the former antisemitic internet troll to stand as a Conservative council candidate after a Labour peer he harassed warned he should not “have any role in public life”.

The Conservative leader said she believed Bonehill-Paine, who has been selected to fight the Crewkerne South ward in Somerset next May, had been rehabilitated.

He as jailed in 2016, after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment against Baroness Luciana Berger, who is Jewish.

He wrote several blog posts about the peer, who was the MP for Liverpool Wavertree at the time, in which he described her as “an evil money-grabber” with a “deep-rooted hatred of men”.

Kemi Badenoch

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

He was previously jailed for producing an advert for a neo-Nazi rally illustrated with a picture of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz which promised “an absolute gas”.

Lady Berger told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “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 many others.”

In a statement on X she said: “I don’t believe this man should have any role in public life – because of both his racism and his view of women.”

Badenoch told Today she understood Lady Berger’s position but added: “I think what Luciana is talking about is not rehabilitation but forgiveness.

“I can understand that she does not want to forgive this man. I might not if I had been his victim.”