Greens drop candidate who shared Hatzola ambulance ‘false flag’ conspiracy theories
Chris Kennedy was announced on Thursday morning as the Green Party candidate for the Makerfield by-election. By the afternoon he had stood down
The Green Party’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election withdrew just a few hours after he was announced, after he was found to have shared social media posts describing the firebombing of Hatzola ambulances in the Jewish community as a “false flag”.
Chris Kennedy was announced by the Greens as their candidate on Thursday morning. The party described him as a “safeguarding nurse, battle-tested Green campaigner, passionate grassroots visionary and your Green Party candidate for Makerfield”. But just a few hours later he had abruptly withdrawn, with the Greens saying he had stepped back for “family and personal reasons”.
On Thursday evening, The Times reported that Kennedy had shared posts on social media describing an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London as a “false flag”. A journalist for The Times said that when they approached him, Kennedy apologised for the posts and quit as a candidate.
As reported by The Times, Kennedy also “shared an Instagram video that described the arrests of two men over the attack as ‘total bullshit to keep the false flag flying’ and featured another image in which parts of the word ‘Jewish’ were blacked out.”
Another post shared by Kennedy was from Hugh Anthony, described by Hope not Hate as “a young ethnonationalist…an open racist” and “viciously antisemitic…recently stat[ing] that remigration should also be extended to ‘all Jews living in Britain’”.
The post from Anthony shared by Kennedy claimed that the response to the arson attack on the Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green made “no sense”.
A Green Party spokesperson said: “These posts don’t reflect the views of The Green Party.
“We have spoken to Chris about these posts, and he has now deleted them. He apologises for the offence caused.”
The Green Party said its earlier statement still stood on the withdrawal of Mr Kennedy, a nurse and children’s safeguarding specialist.
Nominations for a replacement candidate will open tomorrow and a selection meeting is planned for Monday evening.
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
