British Liberal Democrats have ruled out Geeta Sidhu-Robb as one of their candidates for mayor of London and suspended her from the party after a video surfaced of her making anti-Semitic remarks during the 1997 general election.
The lawyer and businesswoman, who has roots in Punjab, was the Conservative candidate in Blackburn, Lancashire in the 1997 elections. Her opponent was Labor leader Jack Straw.
Footage from that election campaign, released by the PoliticsHome website, shows Sidhu-Robb saying he planned to inform voters of Straw’s faith, adding: “How is a Muslim going to vote for someone who is Jewish?”
She is then seen driving around in a car in Blackburn, appealing to voters over a speaker in Urdu.
“Don’t vote for a Jew, Jack Straw is Jewish,” she is seen as saying about her rival candidate, who held various cabinet positions in the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown administrations, including as foreign secretary.
Straw is a Christian, but has Jewish ancestry. The Blackburn constituency has a large Muslim minority, about 25% of the population.
The video prompted an investigation by the Liberal Democrats, the UK’s third-largest party after Labor and the Conservatives. A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said: “Geeta Sidhu-Robb has been suspended from the Liberal Democrats and will not be on the ballot to be the Liberal Democratic candidate for Mayor of London.”
Sidhu-Robb apologized after the images emerged. “I am deeply ashamed of the ignorant and abusive language I once used in the 1997 general election campaign. As shown in the pictures, I instantly regretted my terrible behavior, which I continue to do,” he tweeted.
“Those words are completely inconsistent with my views and values, and although there are no excuses for my actions, there is some context; I mean, I was under great pressure and I retaliated for the racial abuse I was receiving in Blackburn ‘I like it’.
Two mistakes never do good. I made a mistake and I take responsibility for my abominable actions 23 years ago, they were never repeated. I urge you to judge me for who I am today, an activist committed to the eradication of inequality and discrimination in all its forms, “she added.
The London mayoral election was due to take place in May, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sidhu-Robb was shortlisted for the mayoral run along with Liberal Democrat councilor Luisa Porrit, and the contest will run until October 13. The party, which formed a coalition government with the Conservatives under David Cameron from 2010 to 2015, is finalizing its candidate after Siobhan Benita, who was to compete against Mayor Sadiq Khan, recently retired.
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