By Ben Kerrigan-
Two Conservative MPs have asked Emma Dent Coad to be investigated after she allegedly made “racist” remarks about Tory activist Shaun Bailey.
Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly have written an open letter to Jeremy Corbyn stating that his “failure to condemn her comments is both disappointing and concerning”.
They have asked him to investigate her and withdraw the whip as this goes on. The pair jointly wrote:
“Your silence is disappointing because it gives the impression that you are comfortable with the comments Ms Dent Coad made. It is concerning because it reinforces our belief that there are too many people in the Labour Party who see Conservatives from BAME backgrounds as ‘traitors’ and, therefore, legitimate targets for abuse.”
One of Jeremy Corbyn’s top supporters, and most senior MPs Clive Lewis faced widespread criticism after he claimed Conservative MPs can’t fight racism.
Ms Badenoch said she disagreed with his comments, tweeting:
“I have read Clive Lewis’s awful remarks to Nimko Ali. Patronizing and wrong-headed. Denying blacks a basic human right to support a party of their choosing. It’s the attitude I referred to in my conference speech -that you can’t be black and conservative. “
There is no bar on colour from any political party, but the perception in some circles that being black is incompatible with representing the Conservative party is one that must be rejected. It is worth noting that this just a perception, but one that must not be given any life. Prime minister Theresa May has on a few occasions spoken out against racism in the country, pledging to represent people from all backgrounds during her inauguration speech as prime minister.
FITTING
Emma Dent Coad had previously mocked Shaun Bailey for ”trying hard to fit in’ by being photographed with then Tory Leader David Cameron. The blog written in 2010 resurfaced on the Guido Fawkes website yesterday. Coad, elected as MP for Kensington last June. In her piece, she said ” who can say where this man will ever fit in?One day he is the token ghetto boy standing behind David Cameron, the next, looking interested, beside G Osborne. Ever felt used”? The comments appear disparaging and call for wider explanation by Coad, who now has the label of a racist dogging her like shadow.
Disturbing revelations have also emerged that Ms Dent Coad had drawn a Conservative being hung from a tree in a bizarre blog post.
The Labour MP for Kensington faced another scandal after it was revealed she encouraged 13-year-olds to engage in sexual behaviour.
Not long after Coad apologised for calling a black Conservative activist a “token ghetto boy”, it was revealed by the Guido Fawkes website that she had said “explicit” sex manuals should be given to 13-year-olds about the “joys of heavy petting”.
The letter to the Guardian, written in 1999, read: “Whatever happened to heavy petting? Teenage sex, according to the government, your own editorial and all current debate centres exclusively on penetrative sex.
“Have we forgotten the delights of prolonged snogs, slow caresses, fumbling through clothing? An explicit manual on heavy petting could be given to all 13-year-olds. Embrace the joys of sex; avoid the dangers.” How awful and degrading that this should come from her mouth.
Earlier, her apology via BBC Radio London was called ”cowardly” by Bailey, who has a bit of a resemblance with DJ Trevor Nelson. “If he was offended by me repeating what other people have said then I do apologise. Clearly, I shouldn’t have repeated it. People have taken it the wrong way.”
Mr Bailey called for Jeremy Corbyn to take action over the MP, and said her apology was “cowardly”.
Bailey said in a statement: “I’m extremely disappointed and further saddened by the cowardly response given by Emma Dent Coad this morning.
“Instead of facing this issue she has attempted to blur and camouflage the views she expressed in her blog by falsely dressing them up as someone else’s words. Despite her claims, she can provide no evidence that I or anyone else used the horrendous terms she advocated.
“The fact her poisonous blog was followed up by repeated slurs on Twitter shows what her true views are.
“I find it appalling that someone as privileged as Ms Dent Coad would dare question the legitimacy of my background. I’ve spent decades working with people in my community and, unlike Ms Dent Coad, can be proud of my record.
“I am now urging Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party to take the strongest disciplinary action possible. Elected representatives should show more respect and it is vital she is not allowed to inflict this bullying behaviour on other aspiring candidates in the area.”
VETTING
Labour’s Mp’s are not having a ggod week after it was revealed Nasreen Khan once expressed anti-semitic comments. It was revealed that the Labour MP asked “what good have Jews done for this world?” was shortlisted for selection in a Bradford council seat after her comments had come to light. Jewish News reported that after press scrutiny, Ms Khan is due to be re-interviewed by the Labour Party in Bradford.
The site reports she will speak before a panel tomorrow.
It was revealed earlier by the website that five years ago, she wrote: “It’s such a shame that the history teachers in our school never taught us this but they are the first to start brainwashing us and our children into thinking the bad guy was Hitler.
“What have the Jews done good in this world??”
She also reportedly said there are “worse people than Hitler in this world now” and “Jews have reaped the rewards of playing victims. Enough is enough”. She has since described the remarks as “inappropriate and unacceptable”, but that apology is too late.
Following complaints, the Labour Party originally said it would not be able to suspend her candidature as details of her past had been known at the time of her shortlisting.
Ms Khan defended her comments in a statement over the summer, by saying she at first used the term “Zionist”, but changed it to “Jews” when she was told the former was a “term of abuse”.
However, she said she “profoundly regretted” this and said she can now distinguish between Israeli policy and the Jewish community, and said she had learned more about the Holocaust since making those comments – and that others in the party had said “as bad or worse”.
Questions over Labour’s vetting process also arose after MP Jared O’Mara was found to have made sexist comments on multiple occasions, and it was revealed the party had been emailed about the remarks over a month before he had the whip removed