A London Green Party local election candidate who shared a conspiracy theory about the arson attack on Jewish community ambulances has stepped down.
Tope Olawoyin has withdrawn from the council elections on May 7 where she was due to stand in Havering.
She introduced Green leader Zack Polanski on stage at the party’s conference and is listed as an officer of the London executive committee.
After four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green were set alight on March 23, Ms Olawoyin had suggested the incident could have been orchestrated by members of the Jewish community.
Five people have now been arrested in connection with the attack. On Wednesday, the Met confirmed two British men, aged 19 and 20, and a 17-year-old dual British-Pakistani national, had been detained at separate addresses in east London.
Two British men, aged 47 and 45, were arrested last week on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and have been bailed until later this month.
Police are treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.
Ms Olawoyin wrote a post on her now private X account, which stated: “I can say with almost absolute certainty that the men arrested are white, probably even Jewish, because we all know for a fact that if they weren't their names and pictures would be EVERYWHERE."
A Green Party spokesman confirmed Ms Olawoyin had withdrawn as a candidate for the upcoming election and that the local vetting and selection panel would choose her replacement shortly.
They added: “Of course we must also condemn the attack on the ambulances in Golders Green, and I would urge everyone to demonstrate compassion in situations like this, against minority communities.”
Messages from a separate leaked WhatsApp group appeared to show Green Party activists referring to Jewish people as "an abomination”.
Members of Greens for Palestine also suggested the arson attack in Golders Green was potentially a "false flag" operation.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said the messages, first reported by the Telegraph, were “straight out of Nazi Germany”.
A spokesperson for Green Party said the statements do “not represent the views of the Green Party”.
It comes as the mayor of Bath resigned after sharing social media posts that suggested the arson attack in Golders Green was a fraud.
Liberal Democrat councillor Dr Bharat Pankhania shared a post on his X account about the attack on the volunteer-led ambulance service.
He apologised for sharing the posts, which he described as "abhorrent", and was suspended by the Liberal Democrat group on Bath and North East Somerset Council.
In a statement this week, the Liberal Democrat council group confirmed that Dr Pankhania had offered his resignation as city mayor and from the group.
A spokesperson said: "As of March 30 2026, Cllr Bharat Pankhania has offered his resignations from the position of Mayor of Bath and from the Liberal Democrat Group on Bath and North East Somerset Council, from which he had already been suspended.
"Both these resignations have been accepted.
"Cllr Pankhania again apologised for his interactions on X, and reiterated that he has spent his life working with all communities, whilst acknowledging the hurt he had caused.
"In resigning, Cllr Pankhania is taking clear personal responsibility for his actions.
"As a group and as a party, we reject discrimination wherever it occurs and reiterate our stance against antisemitism.”
