A Liberal Democrat candidate has been suspended from the party over offensive tweets in which he referred to women as “bitches”.
Ben Mathis, running in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was dropped by the Lib Dems last night after “clearly offensive” tweets were revealed.
They include references to “hot young boys”, “whiny bitches”, and suggesting Right-wing activist Katie Hopkins will lose “several kilos of unpleasant fat… I wonder if they’ll use an axe or a guillotine”.
The former London Overground worker, who had been selected to take on Labour’s Diane Abbott, also used the word “retard” in tweets uncovered by the East London Lines website.
A Lib Dem spokeswoman said Mr Mathis had been suspended by the party and added: “Public posts on his Twitter account between 2011 and 2018 have been drawn to our attention that are clearly offensive, including about those with protected characteristics.
“We consider them to bring the party into disrepute and to be in material disagreement with the fundamental values and objectives of the party.”
It is too late for the Lib Dems to remove Mr Mathis from the ballot paper because nominations have closed.
He posted an apology Twitter feed, saying: “Anyone who knows me or has followed my account… will know that these tweets do not represent who I was then and certainly are not an accurate representation of who I am as a person today. I am deeply sorry to anyone I have upset or offended.”
In another post he also accused Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson of throwing him under the bus, saying: “Oh and @joswinson — can you lend me a torch? It’s bloody dark under this bus."
