Conservative MP sparks fury over Covid vaccine ‘Holocaust’ claim
Party confirms it has removed the whip from Andrew Bridgen MP after he sparked outrage with comments about vaccine safety in response to an article on a far-right news site.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A Conservative MP has sparked fury after suggesting safety around Covid vaccines “is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.”
Andrew Bridgen, Tory MP for North West Leicestershire, tweeted an article which appeared on a far-right news site which claimed to show the extent of adverse reaction to the vaccine amongst adults in America.
Bridgen tweeted the article before writing:”As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.”
After the tweet sparked widespread anger Simon Hart, the Tory chief whip, confirmed:”‘Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives. I am removing the Whip from Andrew Bridgen with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation.”
Hart added the comments had “crossed a line” and “caused great offence” and that Bridgen would now sit as an independent MP while the investigation took place into his remarks.
In an earlier statement the Board of Deputies said:”For an MP to suggest that Covid vaccines are the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust is unconscionable. We will be writing to the Chair of the Conservative Party Nadhim Zahawi to express our deep concern and to ask for clarification as to what action will be taken.“
The article displayed that Bridgen shared was published by the Zero Hedge website, which has a track-record for publishing far-right, libertarian information.
It claimed to show that safety monitoring analysis for Covid vaccines proved high levels of adverse response had been hidden from the public.
Zero Hedge had previously been banned from Twitter for promoting misinformation, including antisemitic Great Replacement Theory.
As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust https://t.co/NEiNy4Ix1g
— Andrew Bridgen (@ABridgen) January 11, 2023
Labour shadow minister Christian Wakeford had earlier led calls for the Tories to remove the whip from the MP, who has become an outspoken critic of the lockdown during the pandemic.
Wakeford tweeted:” Fake news and scaremongering on vaccines is bad enough but to invoke the Holocaust during the month of Holocaust Memorial Day is despicable. When is it enough for the Tories to withdraw the whip?“
During PMQs in the Commons, MP Matt Hancock condemned what he said were “disgusting, antisemitic ant-tax conspiracy theories” of Bridgen.
Rishi Sunak responded by saying he recognised the hurt caused to the Jewish community.
But Labour’s Anneliese Dodds criticised Sunak for not acting earlier over Bridgen’s “spreading dangerous misinformation on Covid vaccines for some time now.”
She said he could have been disciplined “weeks ago.”
Dodds added:”To invoke the Holocaust as he did today, is utterly shameful, but it never should have reached this point.”
Claudia Mendoza, co-CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council added:”We pleased the whip has been withdrawn from Andrew Bridgen for his Holocaust comparisons.”
She added:”Any comparison made to the orchestrated murder of six million Jews is completely inappropriate and belittles one of the worst crimes against humanity.”
Bridgen has previously sparked anger over comments made about an alleged “Jewish lobby” during a parliamentary debate.
He used the term in 2014 during a Palestine debate telling MPs “the political system of the world’s superpower and our great ally the United States is very susceptible to well-funded powerful lobbying groups and the power of the Jewish lobby in America.”
The anti racism organisation Hope Not Hate have also raised further concern about Bridget’s recent appearance on a podcast broadcast by his close associate James Delingpole, where they both discussed Covid conspiracy theories.
Delingpole has previously sparked anger after defending the rapper Kayne West over his antisemitism comments.
Bridgen was suspended from parliament for five days earlier this week after being found to have breached rules on paid lobbying and declaring interests.
Lord Pickles, the United Kingdom Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues added: “Throughout the pandemic we saw various anti-vac groups compare themselves to victims of the Nazis, it was distasteful then and remains so. The act of murdering millions of innocent people does not lend itself to modern comparisons, it trivialises and distorts the Holocaust.
“People in authority have a duty to use language responsible, Mr Bridgen has failed that test, and I welcome the removal of the Conservative whip from him.”
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