A Conservative Party candidate for the upcoming local elections has been suspended after old tweets emerged where she compared Islam to Nazism.
Karen Sunderland, a candidate for Crofton Park in Lewisham, London, called Islam “the new Nazism” in a tweet last December.
She also sent a tweet in October mocking hijabs, and the following month said she was confused why Muslims would choose to live in the West.
In a since-removed thread Ms Sunderland wrote: “Love your optimism. The thing is, religion undermines the hard fought for values and tolerances of progressed countries… suppresses free speech and is auto immune from criticism. This is toxic and where the hostility comes from. Religion is totalitarian. Islam has become the new Nazism.”
And in a reply to LBC in November she wrote: “Parents will simply bang on about Islam and their rights blah blah blah. It confuses me so much why people with these views live in the West.” And her tweet about the hijab from October read: “Such a lame attempt you made to justify hijabs. Self indulgent to think anyone would give a toot that you showed your hair.”
Ms Sunderland was suspended on Sunday pending an investigation. She will remain on the ballot for Thursday’s election, a Lewisham Council spokesman said.
Her now-private Twitter account showed she was canvassing over the weekend, the Local Democracy Reporter Service said.
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