The Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has lost the party whip, probably permanently, after he provoked widespread fury among colleagues and elsewhere by comparing the use of Covid vaccines to the Holocaust. The tweet from the North West Leicestershire backbencher came after weeks of him sending increasingly anti-vaccine social media posts, as well as messages to journalists, many of which openly backed conspiracy theories. The message on Wednesday morning linked to an article from Zero Hedge, a libertarian and conspiracy theory website, which purported to show the health risks from Covid vaccines. Bridgen wrote: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.” The message brought immediate outrage and calls for Bridgen, an MP since 2010, to be stripped of the Conservative whip, with Labour questioning why this had not been done before, given his views on vaccines. About two hours after Bridgen’s tweet, which was subsequently deleted, Simon Hart, the Conservative chief whip, announced that he would lose the whip. “Andrew Bridgen has crossed a line, causing great offence in the process,” Hart said. “As a nation we should be very proud of what has been achieved through the vaccine programme. “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, anti-vaccine protesters at Westminster tube station held up a sign they had also displayed earlier in the week saying: “Thank you Andrew Bridgen.” Karen Pollock, the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said Bridgen’s tweet was “highly irresponsible, wholly inappropriate and an elected politician should know better”. Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, said: “Andrew Bridgen has been spreading dangerous misinformation on Covid vaccines for some time now. He could have been disciplined weeks ago. “To invoke the Holocaust, as he did today, is utterly shameful, but it should never have reached this point.” Andrew Percy, a Conservative MP who is vice-chair of the all-party group against antisemitism, called the comment “disgusting”. Asked by Times Radio if Bridgen should be allowed to stand again, Percy said: “I don’t think anybody who believes this kind of crap should, but that’s a matter for the whips not for me.” John Mann, the former Labour MP who is now a non-affiliated peer and the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said Bridgen should not be a Tory candidate again. “There is no possibility that Bridgen can be allowed to stand at the next election,” he said. “He cannot claim that he didn’t realise the level of offence that his remarks cause.” Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, said: “This is truly revolting. “This is dangerous misinformation that should not be spouted by a member of parliament. Wild conspiracy theories and incredibly offensive comparisons to the Holocaust have no place in British society, let alone parliament. Andrew Bridgen must apologise for this disgusting remark.”
A long-term Brexit supporter on the right of the party, Bridgen is known as a serial rebel, having submitted letters of no confidence in David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson – twice in the case of Johnson – and Liz Truss. His loss of the whip means there are now 15 “independent” MPs in the Commons who have lost their respective parties’ whip, one more than the number of Liberal Democrat MPs. Six are former Tories, seven were Labour, and one each from the SNP and Plaid Cymru. If Bridgen does not regain the whip he would be very likely to lose his seat. He would have to stand as an independent, and the constituency, while formerly held by Labour, had a 20,000-plus Conservative majority in the 2019 election. Bridgen is already serving a five-day suspension from the Commons over a separate issue. He was found to have breached rules on paid lobbying and declaring interests. A cross-party committee found Bridgen had repeatedly broken the MPs’ code of conduct. The committee endorsed findings from Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Bridgen was unsuccessful in an attempt to overturn the recommendation in December and parliament approved a motion on Monday. Bridgen was contacted for comment.