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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Rachael Burford

London Tory local election candidate suspended after saying 'Hitler was right'

A Conservative local election candidate standing in London has been suspended from the party after posting "Hitler was right" about Jewish people on social media.

Helena Kanaan, who was running for the Roehampton seat on Wandsworth council, made the comment in response to an online argument between Piers Morgan and self-described misogynist influencer Andrew Tate.

In a reply to Tate asking Morgan whether he condemned terror group Hamas, Ms Kanaan said: "The way the Israel government behaved with Palestinians during the years showed the world that Hitler was right (just the government politics)."

She added: "Please note I am not against Jews people but against the Israel government. No diplomacy, no morals!"

(.)

Her X account was deleted on Thursday morning.

A Tory source described Ms Kanaan's comments as "absolutely abhorrent" and confirmed she was suspended and all support for her campaign withdrawn as soon as the party became aware of the post on Thursday.

However, it is too late to withdraw her name from the ballot paper and select a new candidate for the vote on May 7.

A Conservative Party spokesman told the Standard: "We condemn these comments and have taken swift action to suspend this individual from the Conservative Party pending investigation.

"Whilst this process is rightly confidential we can confirm that we have withdrawn support from her campaign."

Ms Kanaan has been contacted for comment.

It comes after two Green Party candidates standing in London on May 7 were arrested after allegedly posting antisemitic comments online.

The two women were detained under section 19 of the Public Order Act.

The posts are alleged to have included the comments “ramming a synagogue isn’t anti-Semitism, it’s revenge” and “England has a government overrepresented with Zionists Jews”.

A now-deleted Facebook post from one of the women also reportedly stated 9/11 was a “false-flag attack” created by Israel.

A Green Party spokesperson told the Standard: “This is now a police matter and we are unable to comment at this stage."

Both were detained by the Met Police on Thursday morning, according to the Telegraph – just hours after an antisemitic terror attack in Golders Green.

The Met declared terrorist incident on Wednesday after two Jewish men, Shilome Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76, were stabbed before police Tasered and restrained a knife-wielding suspect.

The 45-year-old suspected knifeman was involved in an “altercation” in south London earlier in the day which left another person injured, police said.

He was described as British of Somali descent with a “history of serious violence and mental health issues”, according to Met Commissioner Mark Rowley.

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