NHS director stands down over antisemitic tweets

The newspaper said the now-deleted posts had also compared Zionism to Nazism

An NHS trust director has "stepped down with immediate effect" over social media posts comparing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with the Holocaust.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust said Maqsood Ahmad had quit after the Jewish News raised concerns about antisemitic comments he allegedly posted on Twitter.

It said it condemned "his Twitter comments in the strongest possible terms".

Mr Ahmad has been contacted for comment.

The newspaper said Mr Ahmad, who also identifies himself as the chief executive of the Manchester-based British Muslim Heritage Centre on Twitter, had "posted and shared a succession of inflammatory posts" on the social media site, including one which he claimed showed "real Jews" burning the Israeli flag.

It said the now-deleted posts had also compared Zionism to Nazism and made other comparisons between the Nazis and Israel.

A representative for the trust said it had "a zero-tolerance approach to any form of prejudice or racism and the views expressed in no way reflect the views or values of our organisation".

"As soon as we were informed about the comments, we raised them with Maqsood Ahmad and he stepped down from his role on the board with immediate effect," they added.

Mr Ahmad had held the NHS post since 2020.

The newspaper said it had shown the posts to Lord Mann, the government's advisor on antisemitism.

It said Lord Mann had "significant concerns" about Mr Ahmad's conduct and was looking to "take this matter further".

The British Muslim Heritage Centre has been asked for comment.