North Lincolnshire Council Tory candidate suspended over Holocaust posts

Ashley Sykes was due to stand for the Ashby Lakeside ward of North Lincolnshire Council on 4 May

A Conservative candidate for the forthcoming local elections has been suspended from the party for sharing jokes about the Holocaust online.

Ashley Sykes is standing for the Ashby Lakeside ward of North Lincolnshire Council on 4 May.

The posts on his Facebook page, which date back to 2016, also included racist and homophobic memes.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said it had "acted swiftly" to suspend Mr Sykes once the material came to light.

The posts, which were not written by Mr Sykes, included references to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and the 2016 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando in which 49 people were killed.

The BBC has approached Mr Sykes for a comment. His Facebook profile has since been removed from public view, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In a statement the Conservative Party said: "Having become aware of these historic posts from when he was in his early 20s, which are completely unacceptable and inappropriate, we have acted swiftly and suspended him."

Len Foster, the Labour group leader on North Lincolnshire Council, said the content on Mr Sykes' profile page was "deeply concerning" and said he "should never have been allowed to stand as a candidate for our council".

The newly created Ashby Lakeside ward will elect two councillors on 4 May.

The there are four candidates for the Ashby Lakeside ward: Max Bell (Labour), Judith Matthews (Labour), Joanne Saunby (Conservative) and Ashley Sykes.

North Lincolnshire Council confirmed Mr Sykes' name would appear on ballot sheets despite his suspension from the Conservative Party.