Jewish Tory councillor suspension lifted after online comments

A Jewish Tory councillor in Barnet accused of appearing to endorse the internment of Muslims in 2016 had her suspension from the party lifted.

Councillor Linda Freedman, who represents Edgware, was suspended on May 31 2018 following concerns over messages sent in November 2016.

The suspension, which was lifted on June 28 2018, followed concern over messages in which Freedman responded to a Washington Post article discussing the possibility of interning of Muslims in the US.

In response, she wrote that “they interned my German (family) too for 1 year during WW2. It was the right thing to do for sake of security,” adding: “Most Japanese interned in Canada in WW2.”

In a tweet, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Freedman’s comments “if true, seem to support the detention of Muslims for being Muslims,” before urging the Conservative Party to take action.

Freedman’s comments came just days after the Muslim Council of Britain called for the Conservative Party to launch an investigation into Islamophobia within its ranks, naming Bob Blackman, the Tory MP for Harrow East, who was previously a member of several Islamophobic online groups, including ‘Britain for the British.’