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Ex neo-Nazi activist withdraws as Tory election candidate

bbc.co.uk 05 August 2026 at 20:13 View original article →

The original link is the material being checked. It may contain false or misleading claims — we link for transparency, not endorsement.

92/100
Verdict High Trust Highly Reliable / Accurate

This BBC-attributed article reporting that former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine withdrew as the Conservative candidate for the Crewkerne South ward on Somerset Council (poll due May 2027) following a backlash, and was instead offered an unpaid anti-extremism adviser role, is corroborated by numerous independent, reputable outlets published on 5 August 2026 (ITV, HuffPost UK, Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News, JTA, AOL/PA Media, Gazette & Herald).

✓ 12 checks out ✕ 0 disputed ? 5 unverified
☰ Full analysis The complete summary ⌄

This BBC-attributed article reporting that former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine withdrew as the Conservative candidate for the Crewkerne South ward on Somerset Council (poll due May 2027) following a backlash, and was instead offered an unpaid anti-extremism adviser role, is corroborated by numerous independent, reputable outlets published on 5 August 2026 (ITV, HuffPost UK, Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News, JTA, AOL/PA Media, Gazette & Herald). Key verifiable facts — his 2015 conviction/jailing for inciting racial hatred with antisemitic material (jailed for 3 years and 4 months), his 2016 Old Bailey conviction for racially aggravated harassment of then-Labour MP Luciana Berger (a further 2-year sentence), the judge's sentencing remarks, Berger's status as a peer, Kemi Badenoch's 'second chances' defence, and the reactions of Reform UK, the Lib Dem MP for Yeovil Adam Dance, and the Board of Deputies — all check out against primary court reporting and multiple secondary sources. The reporting is accurate, attributed and balanced, presenting multiple perspectives. Minor caveats: one analytical/opinion passage is BBC editorial interpretation, and the precise 'unpaid' detail is sourced to 'the BBC understands' and is not independently confirmed elsewhere.

What checked out (12)
  • Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi, was selected as the Conservative candidate for the new Somerset Council seat of Crewkerne South and subsequently withdrew after a backlash.
  • He was convicted in 2016 (Old Bailey) of racially aggravated harassment of then-Labour MP Luciana Berger, who is Jewish.
  • At the time of the harassment conviction he was already serving a separate sentence for posting antisemitic material.
  • He was jailed in 2015 for more than three years (3yr 4mth) after posting 'vile' antisemitic material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally, following conviction for inciting racial hatred at Southwark Crown Court.
  • The 2016 harassment sentence was two years; the judge said it was difficult to envisage a worse case of racially aggravated harassment of this kind and that Bonehill-Paine 'sat in the dock smirking'.
  • Luciana Berger now sits as Baroness Berger in the House of Lords and gave evidence at the Old Bailey while over six months pregnant.
  • Kemi Badenoch defended the selection citing rehabilitation and 'second chances', and after the withdrawal said she was 'sad' but 'glad' he would work on tackling radicalisation, using the 'piling on' framing.
  • Bonehill-Paine said he was offered an adviser role with the Conservative Party's Culture and Integration Commission focusing on how young men become radicalised.
  • A Reform UK spokesman said the move 'beggars belief' and was 'alarming news for the Jewish community in Britain'.
  • Adam Dance is the Lib Dem MP for Yeovil (constituency includes Crewkerne) and criticised Badenoch's 'piling on' framing.
  • The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the withdrawal and urged robust vetting against antisemitism.
  • The Crewkerne South seat is contested at the Somerset Council elections on 6 May 2027, consistent with the article's 'next year' phrasing for an August 2026 publication.
? Unverified claims 5 claims ⌄
  • That the adviser position is 'unpaid' — attributed only to 'the BBC understands'; plausible but not independently confirmed.
  • That Jewish groups declined a meeting offered by Bonehill-Paine himself (other sources describe rejecting a Conservative Party invitation); substance verified, precise attribution partially unverified.
  • The BBC's interpretive assessments that the step-down 'felt increasingly inevitable' and that there are 'likely to be questions about Badenoch's judgement' — analysis, not verifiable fact.
  • Bonehill-Paine's self-reported list of anti-extremism training clients (universities, schools, colleges, probation services) — self-sourced; only partially supported by Badenoch's Home Office-certification claim.
  • The exact time served ('spent three years' vs 'more than two years') varies between outlets and is approximate.
⌕ Sources & how we checked Search journal, source grades, confidence ⌄
Confidence

High — All high-priority claims are independently corroborated by multiple reputable secondary sources and at least one primary/contemporaneous source. Residual uncertainty concerns only minor single-sourced or interpretive details (the 'unpaid' role, the meeting-offer chronology, and BBC editorial analysis), marked Unverified rather than affecting core facts. No fabrications or false claims detected.

Search journal

Bonehill-Paine Conservative council candidate withdraws Crewkerne

Luciana Berger Bonehill-Paine trial Old Bailey pregnant evidence

Joshua Bonehill-Paine jailed antisemitic 2015 2016

Bonehill-Paine Badenoch anti-extremism adviser second chances

Board of Deputies Reform UK Bonehill-Paine withdrawal

Campaign Against Antisemitism Bonehill-Paine sentenced additional two years harassment

Jewish News Badenoch defends former neo-Nazi Bonehill-Paine Berger convicted

ITV Former neo-Nazi withdraws Conservative candidacy Badenoch sad adviser radicalisation

Somerset Council Crewkerne South by-election 2027 local elections date

Bonehill-Paine adviser unpaid Berger insult smirking dock pregnant; Reform Lib Dem Adam Dance

Article metrics

Emotion 12% · Reading grade 15.7 · 825 words

≡ The article we checked Full text as retrieved ⌄
Site search 9 minutes ago Paul Seddon,Political reporter and Nick Eardley,Political correspondent Yeovil Conservatives/Getty Images A former neo-Nazi selected by the Conservatives to fight a council election next year has pulled out after a backlash against his candidacy. Joshua Bonehill-Paine was convicted of racially harassing Jewish former Labour MP Luciana Berger in 2016, while already serving a separate jail sentence for sharing antisemitic posts. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch had defended the decision to select him as a candidate for the new Somerset Council seat of Crewkerne South, saying he had been rehabilitated and her party "believes in second chances". But Bonehill-Paine said he had now withdrawn his candidacy, and had been offered a position as an anti-extremism adviser to the party. In a social media post, he said the position with the Conservative Party's Culture and Integration Commission would focus on advising on how to prevent young men from being radicalised. Berger, who now sits as Baroness Berger in the House of Lords, described the appointment as an "insult," adding that making him a party adviser was "no better than allowing him to stand as a council candidate". The position as an anti-extremism adviser to the party is unpaid, the BBC understands. Bonehill-Paine spent three years in prison after he was jailed in 2015 for posting antisemitic material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally. He was convicted of racially harassing then-Labour MP Berger the following year. PA Media Joshua Bonehill-Paine in a photograph taken in 2016 He has described his past views as "indefensible" and says he has spent years opposing antisemitism since leaving prison in 2018. But the party's decision to pick him for the Somerset seat sparked a huge political backlash, with Jewish groups declining the offer from Bonehill-Paine of a meeting. The criticism of his candidacy from Jewish groups made Bonehill-Paine's decision to step down feel increasingly inevitable. There are likely to be questions about Badenoch's judgement in this case after her decision to defend him so publicly raised eyebrows in Westminster. Baroness Berger, who attended court at the OId Bailey in London to give evidence in Bonehill-Paine's trial, has said his past behaviour fell "very, very short" of the standard required to stand for public office. Getty Images Baroness Luciana Berger said Joshua Bonehill-Paine "showed utter contempt" during the case in 2016 Speaking earlier, she said Bonehill-Paine's harassment "affected my life in lots of different ways because of the volume of the material that he was disseminating and putting out, the extremity of it in terms of just frankly how shocking and awful it was". "It was very difficult just being in court and having to give evidence at that time, I was over six months pregnant," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. In sentencing remarks, the judge said it was "difficult to envisage a worse case than this of racially aggravated harassment of this kind", adding Bonehill-Paine had "sat in the dock smirking throughout the trial" and had "plainly enjoyed" Baroness Berger's discomfort. ## 'Piling on' In his social media post, Bonehill-Paine said his local election candidacy would prompt opposition parties to "spend all their time focusing on my past rather than the work I'm doing today". "Rather than standing as a local council candidate, I believe that my experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch in her ongoing mission to combat the antisemitism and extremism that is dividing our nation," he added. In a blog post earlier for ConservativeHome, he said his anti-extremism work had included delivering training sessions and seminars for institutions including universities, schools, colleges, and probation services. In a social media post, Badenoch said: "While I am sad that Joshua feels he won't be given the space to explain his position and represent his community, I am glad he is going to work with me and the party on tackling radicalisation." "If we are going to stop extremism and antisemitism we are going to need help from those people who were part of the problem, but have now changed and are being part of the solution," she added. "Piling on them and trying to get them cancelled may be sport for other parties, but this is a different Conservative Party." But Reform UK hit out at Badenoch's decision to offer him the adviser role, with a spokesman saying it "beggars belief" and was "alarming news for the Jewish community in Britain". Adam Dance, Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil, said Bonehill-Paine's withdrawal was "the right outcome, but it should never have got to this point". He said: "What's most concerning now is Kemi Badenoch's response – she has not accepted her party got this wrong, and instead frames legitimate concern about antisemitism as 'piling on'. That is a troubling message to send." The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed his withdrawal as a council candidate, adding: "We continue to urge all parties to use their vetting to ensure a robust stance on racism and discrimination, including antisemitism."

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