UK Conservatives expel MP for comparing Covid-19 vaccines to Holocaust

UK Conservatives expel MP for comparing Covid-19 vaccines to Holocaust

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party expelled an MP from his bloc on Wednesday for comparing Covid-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.

“Andrew Bridgen has crossed the line, causing serious offense in the process,” Simon Hart, the party’s discipline chief, told Conservatives. “Vaccine misinformation causes harm and costs lives.”

Bridgen, a longtime critic of Covid-19 vaccines, tweeted a link to an article on vaccine side effects on Wednesday, with the comment: “As a consultant cardiologist told me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since ‘Holocaust”.

Speaking in parliament, Sunak later told lawmakers, “It is totally unacceptable to make phone calls and use language like this, and I am determined to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism. It has absolutely no place in our society.”

When asked about the anti-Semitism allegation, Bridgen later apologised.

“Regarding my tweet this morning, the use of the Holocaust as a reference was insensitive, for which I apologize. I have deleted the offending tweet,” he said.

“However, this cannot be used to divert attention away from valid vaccine concerns. The article I tweeted features the work of a Jewish Israeli researcher.”

Bridgen is currently suspended from the lower house of parliament for five days after it was found he breached rules on paid lobbying and disclosure of financial interests.

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Source: Terra

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