Racist abuse will not stop me standing in Bedford - Tory candidate

Pinder Chauhan said politicians had to have a "strong skin" but a lot of the abuse was just "really unacceptable"

A Tory parliamentary candidate said she would not be put off standing despite being sent racist abuse including images of a severed pig's head.

Pinder Chauhan says she had experienced racist abuse since first being elected as a councillor in Northampton in 2017.

She has been selected to stand in Bedford at the next general election.

She said "very graphic" drawings had been sent to her home and on WhatsApp, and she had experienced verbal abuse in the street.

Ms Chauhan, who currently serves on West Northamptonshire Council, said "very graphic" drawings were sent to her home after she won the Sixfields ward in Northampton on the now-defunct Northamptonshire County Council.

"They were hand delivered so someone had physically gone to my doorstep and all I could think was that my kids and husband were in the house," she said.

"You automatically start thinking about their safety."

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Ms Chauhan said the abuse had got worse since she was selected to stand for the Conservatives at the next general election, which is due by January 2025.

"It started off on social media where if I visited a temple I'd dress traditionally, but I'd get messages saying go back to your own country; I'd been born in England, so this is my country," she said.

Pinder Chauhan said politics offered a "platform for change - that's why I do it and I think that drive outweighs the negatives"

The BBC has seen the image of the pig's head that she was sent via Whats App.

"I was in the middle of party conference, so I'm feeling incredibly worried because phone calls started at the same time," she said.

"All of a sudden this is in your personal space, it's on your phone and not just online."

She also shared her experience of an incident when she started out as a councillor in Northamptonshire.

"Someone on the street came right up to my face and said he was from the British National Party and I had to take a step back as he was that close to me," she said.

"I was with about five or six people, but even then someone was willing to be that close."

Ms Chauhan and her supporters are already on the campaign trail ahead of the general election which is expected next year, or January 2025 at the latest

Ms Chauhan, who represents the East Hunsbury and Shelfleys ward and is cabinet member for flooding on West Northants Council, said these incidents would not stop her continuing her political career.

"I try not to think about it; I love listening to people and love being out there; I feel this is what I was born to do, as cliched as that sounds," she said.

"Politics is a massive platform for change - that's why I do it and I think that drive outweighs the negatives.

"It is part of being a politician - you do have to have a strong skin, but a lot of it is really unacceptable."

She said people who send these messages should "think about the impact it has".

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"There are other ways of communicating and you don't have to threaten, but ultimately I think for someone to do that they have to probably not be in the right place mentally," she added.

Bedfordshire Police's hate crime lead Sgt Daniel O'Mahoney said: "We treat all reports of hate crime with the utmost severity and members of the public should be confident in reporting incidents to us and know that they will be investigated thoroughly.

"We continue to work with a number of partners across the region around hate crime, and I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of an incident to get in touch with us right away, either through our website or by calling 101."

The Bedford seat is currently represented by Labour MP Mohammad Yasin, who was recently stopped from boarding a flight in Canada due to his first name, the Commons heard.