A Tory candidate in Wales sent out a leaflet saying “Islamic terrorism” and the “abuse of our children” were “the consequences of multiculturalism” while he was a candidate for UKIP.
The discovery underlines claims reported earlier in the year that UKIP was attempting to infiltrate the Conservative party in order to ensure a hard Brexit.
Martyn Ford, who is currently running as the Welsh Conservative Party candidate for a seat on the Monmouth town council for Drybridge Ward, has previously been a candidate for UKIP for Swansea West in the general election in 2015.
When contacted for a statement by Central European News (CEN), the Welsh Conservative party replied by email to say that he had been “administratively suspended” after they were alerted to the fact that he was connected with the controversial flyer.
In the flyer, Ford said that as a UKIP candidate he “condemns diversity”.
Ford wrote: “Segregated Muslim communities have proved a fertile breeding ground for Islamic extremists, a direct result of uncontrolled immigration encouraged by the political elite.”
The leaflet went on: “Political correctness has also allowed the most horrific crimes against children to go unpunished.”
The race-baiting texts in the leaflet were too much for UKIP, who gave Ford a “final warning” but stopped short of suspending him.
Many Monmouth citizens flocked to social media to express their shock at the Tories fielding Ford as a candidate.
One netizen wrote: “A candidate disciplined by UKIP for racism. Sounds like a lovely chap, think the Tories are into a winner there.”
Another netizen wrote: “I think the only threat to our children is his narrow mindedness and ignorance!”
When contacted at his election nomination address by Charles Boase, a freelance journalist whose daughter Rachel Jupp is also standing in the election, Ford told him he was a “Christian who believes that Islam is destroying the Christian heritage of this country, and that he is a proud patriot”.
He added: “I am proud to hold views that are shared by four-and-a-half million others in this country.”
It is unclear where this figure comes from, because the UKIP vote in 2015 was 3.88 million. In 2017 it was 594,000.”
Asked about his past, Ford said he “had been a member of UKIP, but had now rejoined the Conservative party”.
Ford also repeatedly slammed “the liberal media” for “always distorting the news”.
He said: “Look at what happened to poor Nigel Farage.”
The current Welsh Conservative Party councilors in Monmouth did either not want to comment on Ford or could not be reached when called by CEN.
Spokeswoman Denise Howard at the party headquarters in Cardiff said in a statement that “the Welsh Conservatives have administratively suspended Martyn Ford pending further investigation”.
Howard said: “We in no way condone remarks made by him in the past. Our party works hard to reach out to, and represent, all communities and people from all walks of life.”
The Monmouthshire County Council has confirmed that Ford’s suspension has no influence on the ballot where he will be listed with the Welsh Conservative Party attribution.
Ford is running against Labour candidate Lyn Tanner and Rachel Jupp of the non-partisan ‘Indy Monmouth’ party.
Jupp said that she was “surprised that the Conservatives were happy to allow someone to stand for them who previously had to be disciplined by UKIP”.
Some Tory MPs have recently warned of the risk of UKIP members trying to take over the Conservative party in an attempt to shift its course more to the right.
Pro-Brexit group Leave.EU, which was set up by major UKIP donor Arron Banks, has even encouraged its supporters to become Conservative party members to back Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg in a potential future leadership contest.
Banks said he plans to recruit as much as 50,000 members who favour a hard Brexit for the Tories.
Conservative MP Anna Soubry said: “These people are absolutely dedicated to their cause. And you don’t need an awful lot of people to make a huge amount of difference – so it’s really worrying.”
According to some estimates, at least 36 of the 358 UKIP councilors elected across Britain since 2015 have defected to the Conservative party.
Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
