Conservative MP stripped of party whip after he linked Covid vaccine to Holocaust

A Conservative MP has been stripped of the party whip after he appeared to link the rollout of Covid vaccinations to the Holocaust.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak denounced the comments as “completely unacceptable”.

The party’s chief whip Simon Hart said Andrew Bridgen had “crossed a line” and had “caused great offence in the process”.

Mr Bridgen claimed that Covid vaccines were “causing serious harms” and said he had been told the programme was “the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust”.

Mr Hart said: “The vaccine is the best defence against Covid that we have. Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives. I am therefore removing the Whip from Andrew Bridgen with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation.”On Wednesday Mr Bridgen tweeted an article on vaccines, adding: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.”

Earlier this week the North West Leicestershire MP was suspended from the Commons for five days. MPs backed the measure after he was found to have displayed a “very cavalier” attitude to the rules in a series of lobbying breaches.

Will Moy, chief executive at anti-misinformation site Full Fact, said “Andrew Bridgen has put lives at risk for months by being enabled to peddle health misinformation in Parliament.

“It is right that the Conservative Party took action after Andrew Bridgen’s shameful comments online earlier today. But it is unacceptable that an MP has been allowed to repeatedly make dangerous, false claims about vaccines for months without consequence.

“Globally, we have seen what happens when we empower conspiracy theorists to spread dangerous health misinformation, which costs lives.

“Are the Conservative Party seriously going to consider endorsing an MP who behaves like this at the next election?”