Kemi Badenoch defends allowing a former neo-Nazi to stand as Tory council candidate as he's 'more than contrite' for his 'appalling' crimes - but Jewish groups demand U-turn

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 10:07, 5 August 2026 | Updated: 10:08, 5 August 2026 Kemi Badenoch today defended allowing a former neo-Nazi to stand as a Tory council candidate as she said he was 'more than contrite' for his past actions. Joshua Bonehill-Paine has been selected to fight the Crewkerne South ward in Somerset for the Conservatives next May. He was jailed in 2016, after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment against Baroness Luciana Berger, who is Jewish. Bonehill-Paine wrote several blog posts about the peer, who was Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree at the time, in which he described her as 'an evil money-grabber' with a 'deep-rooted hatred of men'. In one post, he claimed the number of Jewish Labour MPs was a 'problem'. He was previously jailed for producing an advert for a neo-Nazi rally illustrated with a picture of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz which promised 'an absolute gas'. Baroness Berger and Jewish groups have demanded Mrs Badenoch rethink the decision to allow Bonehill-Paine to stand for the Tories. But the Conservative leader said she believed he had been rehabilitated and pointed to how he had been certified by the Home Office to train police officers on anti-Semitism and countering extremism.  Joshua Bonehill-Paine has been selected as a Tory council candidate. He was jailed in 2016 after being convicted of racially aggravated harassment against Baroness Luciana Berger Mrs Badenoch acknowledged Bonehill-Paine's past actions were 'appalling, abhorrent even' but said she believed he had been rehabilitated 'This man is showing that he is more than contrite,' Mrs Badenoch told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'He is actually working, training Prevent officers, speaking in universities and schools.  'I am extremely worried about anti-Semitism, and what I feel is that if we can't have the people who have previously been radicalised, who understand what went wrong and are part of the fight against anti-Semitism now. 'If we're saying no, no, no, you're untouchable, then how can we pretend that we believe in rehabilitation? 'I'm someone who's quite sceptical about rehabilitation, and I see this man as somebody who has been rehabilitated.' Mrs Badenoch acknowledged Bonehill-Paine's past actions were 'appalling, abhorrent even', and said she understood Baroness Berger's position. 'I think what Luciana is talking about is not rehabilitation but forgiveness,' she added. 'I can understand that she does not want to forgive this man. I might not if I had been his victim.' The Tory leader also insisted there is 'a huge difference' between allowing someone to stand as a council candidate and being a prospective MP. 'I'm not giving him a national platform, he is standing to be a councillor in Somerset,' she said. 'It is a local platform looking at parking, sorting out bins, that's what councillors do. It's not a national platform. 'I have much higher thresholds for what it takes to be a Conservative MP.' Baroness Berger had earlier told the same programme: 'There's a big difference between going back into society and teaching others possibly about what you did and why it was wrong, to making the leap to standing for public office. 'I think there's a massive distinction there and this is not just one-off hurty words.  This is a man that engaged and indulged in a sustained campaign, not just against me, but many others.' In a statement on X she said: 'I don't believe this man should have any role in public life – because of both his racism and his view of women.' Karen Newman, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, criticised the selection of Bonehill-Paine, saying 'it beggars belief'. She added: 'We have contacted the Conservative Party to set out our concerns and call on them to rescind his selection and review their vetting processes.' Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust - a charity that provides advice to Jewish communities on security matters, told Times Radio: 'The Conservative Party knows the Jewish community well and Kemi Badenoch has been very, very strong and outspoken against anti-Semitism. 'So I have no doubts about her views at all. But I still think this is a situation where it's completely understandable where a lot of people would look at this and say, well, he might be suitable to warn against extremism and antisemitism based on his own previous experiences. 'But as a representative of the party and a local councillor, really, I think that a lot of people will find that a step too far.' Bonehill-Paine said on Tuesday he had 'no excuses' for his past offending and added he has since dedicated himself to 'challenging the wave of hatred British Jews continue to face'.  He is the man behind the viral satirical website the Crewkerne Gazette. The page, which has more than 40,000 followers on X and more than 50,000 on YouTube, features AI-generated videos depicting various real-life politicians, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Mrs Badenoch, shadow home secretary Chris Philp and Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Mrs Badenoch said: 'I don't watch the videos. I don't even like those videos. I hate AI deepfakes. 'He seems to like lots of politicians and makes fun of all politicians. But that's by the by, it's the work that he is doing on anti-Semitism. 'That's the main thing he's doing. The videos on Twitter are a sideshow.'