A Green Party candidate standing in an upcoming London by-election has apologised after referring to Indian men having “rapey grins” in a post on social media.
Esther Lie is standing in the Crofton Park ward by-election, the seat on Lewisham council left vacant by Liam Shrivastava who became the Green mayor of the borough on May 7.
In a now-deleted tweet, she wrote: “Almost fancied the Indian guys at the swimming pool yesterday. Despite their thick prickly torsos and rapey grins.”
Labour accused the Green Party of repeatedly selecting “candidates with racist views” and vetting failures.
In a statement, Ms Lie said: “This tweet was made 13 years ago, in response to a particular event that had happened to me whilst backpacking as a young person - and wasn't ever meant for public consumption.
“Hence why I deleted it several years ago. It reflects the lack of constructive spaces for people facing sexual assault at the time. I think it is clearly inappropriate and I apologise.”
Anna Turley, Chair of the Labour Party, said: “London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and racist comments like those made by Green Party candidate Esther Lie have no place anywhere near public life.
“People in Forest Hill, Lewisham and across London deserve representatives who respect every community, not candidates who insult and divide them.
“This is now a pattern from the Greens across the country.
“They keep selecting candidates with racist views, and Zack Polanski needs to take responsibility for what is happening on his watch. Londoners are entitled to ask what it is about the Green Party that keeps attracting people like this, and why their vetting keeps failing.”
Londoners are facing nine local by-elections next month at a cost of almost £250,000.
Seven newly-elected councillors have to be replaced due to a variety of reasons.
Six of them are from the Green Party with representatives in Camden, Haringey, Ealing, Lambeth and Hackney councils immediately standing down after the polls on May 7.
They include Saiqa Ali, who was elected as one of 29 Green councillors in Lambeth, quitting following her arrest over allegations she had made a series of antisemitic social media posts.
The election of Green Party members Zoë Garbett and Liam Shrivastava as mayors in Hackney and Lewisham, respectively, means two more by-elections have to take place.
