By, Marcus Dysch
2 min read
ByMarcus Dysch, Marcus Dysch
A Ukip election candidate has been suspended by the party for sending abusive tweets to Jewish MPs.
Posts from the account of Jack Sen, who is standing for the party in the seat of West Lancashire, targeted Labour’s Luciana Berger and Conservative chairman Grant Shapps.
The messages appeared to accuse the Jewish politicians of dual loyalty.
He was suspended on Friday after complaints were raised about the messages. Ukip said his comments were not reflective of party views. Mr Sen remained unrepentant, tweeting that he was a "whipping boy" for the media and would continue to fight to win the constituency.
The tweets, posted on Thursday, included one to Ms Berger that read: “You're about authentic Labour as Ed Miliband. Protect child benefits? If you had it your way you'd send the £ to Poland/Israel.”
@lucianaberger You're about authentic Labour as Ed Miliband.Protect child benefits?If you had it your way you'd send the £ to Poland/Israel
— Jack Sen UKIP (@jacksenukip) April 30, 2015
Another aimed at Mr Shapps stated: “So many top American politicians have dual loyalites. Sad to see someone so important in the Tory party with a dual allegiance.”
The north-west constituency of West Lancashire is held by Labour’s Rosie Cooper. Ukip came fourth in 2010.
Mr Sen describes himself as “unapologetically politically incorrect” on his account on the social networking site.
The Community Security Trust said the candidate’s tweets were “pathetic”.
In an interview with a far-right website last month Mr Sen said: "What really angers me though is how progressive white Americans and Canadians descended from people that exterminated an entire race of people (native Americans) and White Ashkenazim that have about as much right to be in the Holy Land as I do in Borneo, aren’t being told they have to go home.
"I’m not criticising Americans or Israel-just pointing out the double standard."
He also attacked Labour leader Ed Miliband's Holocaust survivor father. Mr Sen said: "Ralph Miliband emigrated to Britain and did his utmost to destroy his host nation."
Ms Berger was targeted by neo-Nazi groups last year and has repeatedly been attacked on Twitter by antisemitic and abusive users.
Earlier this week Mr Sen claimed threats from anti-Ukip activists were making it unsafe for him to campaign in the area.
● A Liberal Democrat candidate has refused to back a Board of Deputies initiative relating to Jewish issues after appearing to accuse the organisation of mistreating Palestinians.Peter Hirst, who is standing in the Lancashire seat of Congleton, had been approached to support the Board’s Jewish Manifesto document.
He responded by telling the Board: “How you treat the Palestinian people prevents me from signing up [to] this otherwise welcome manifesto.”
Board chief executive Gillian Merron said: “Regardless of Dr Hirst’s views on the situation in the Middle East, his willingness to hold British Jews responsible for a complex conflict and to subsequently refuse to back the community on issues such as antisemitism, religious freedoms and promoting tolerance, as outlined in the Board’s Jewish Manifesto, is deeply disturbing.”
● A poster supporting the campaign of Conservative candidate Simon Marcus has been daubed with a swastika.
Mr Marcus, who is Jewish, is standing in the London seat of Hampstead and Kilburn.
The campaign placard was also defaced with graffiti which appeared to make Mr Marcus look like Hitler.
