Conservative candidate suspended over Tommy Robinson tweet

Stephen Chadwick had already apologised for a previous tweet

A Conservative local election candidate has been suspended by the party after the BBC uncovered a tweet in which he endorsed the views of Tommy Robinson.

Stephen Chadwick said the English Defence League founder had been "talking complete and utter sense" about "Islamic problems".

The Conservative Party said "any form of racism will not be tolerated".

Mr Chadwick, who is standing as a Warrington councillor, has not responded to a request for comment.

He was kept as a candidate by the party last week after he apologised for a separate tweet sent in May 2019 in which he revealed he had become a "registered Tommy Robinson supporter".

'Lack of integrity'

Defending its decision at the time, the party told the Warrington Worldwide website Mr Chadwick had lacked "knowledge of the wider context" of the tweet, adding that he had not previously made the party aware of it and had been "very clear that he does not support or condone the views of that post".

However, the BBC has since uncovered a further tweet from Mr Chadwick's deleted Twitter account from February 2020, in which he asked ITV's Good Morning Britain programme "at what point will you turn around and admit that Tommy Robinson has been talking complete and utter sense regarding these Islamic problems?"

When approached by the BBC, the party said Mr Chadwick had been suspended.

However, it is too late to remove him as one of the party's three candidates in the Lymm North and Thelwall ward on Warrington Borough Council, where the Liberal Democrats and Labour are also standing.

Warrington Liberal Democrats said the revelation showed "a lack of integrity in the Conservatives' candidate selection process" and "reflects a worrying entryism into the local Conservative Party".

Warrington Labour Party said Mr Chadwick's selection "calls into question both the vetting procedures and the judgement of Warrington Conservative Association".