Why has Kemi Badenoch given a former neo-Nazi an advisory role? – The Latest
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Who is Joshua Bonehill‑Paine and why did his candidacy cause controversy?
This is The Guardian.
The optics are not great. The optics are, here is a former neo-Nazi welcome.
This is a man who was talking about how in his late teens and early 20s he was radicalised. And I see this man as somebody who has been rehabilitated.
Kimmy Bidnock made a bit of a rod for her own back. She's got people now saying he wasn't fit to be a candidate. Why is he fit to be an advisor?
From the Guardians today in Focus, this is The Latest with me, Lucy Harth. In the headlines recently has been the name Joshua Bonehill Payne, who was due to run in next year's local council elections for the Conservative Party. Ben Quinn, you are our political correspondent. Bonehill Payne has now decided to step down because of revelations that he was a former neo-Nazi. Explain to us who he is and what those allegations were.
Yeah, so he's a person who served prison time for a litany of offences, including racially harassing an MP, a Jewish MP. He's also somebody who's since tried to reinvent himself or has reinvented himself.
What reasons did Kemi Badenoch give for appointing a former neo‑Nazi as an adviser?
And it's been as the creator of a viral video production called The Crew Kern Gazette. You may have seen it on Twitter or somewhere else. Some people would look at it essentially as AI stuff. I'm blessed not to have... So he badges it as satire, but it's basically using AI to ridicule and send up contemporary politics and politicians. But he's been back in the news this week after we reported earlier this week that he was selected as a Conservative Party candidate in the upcoming local elections in his area next year.
Which proved enormously controversial because the MP in question, now a Labour peer, Luciana Berger, has been very vocal about the anti-Semitic abuse that she received. Kemi Badenoch saying that he no longer held these extremist views and that her party believed in second chances. But he has now stood down. So that now looks like perhaps a bit of a misstep from Badenoch.
Yeah, I mean, it's exactly the sort of place where she wouldn't have wanted to be in the early days of August. Parliament's in recess. The Conservative Party have had this grid, as all serious political parties have. They want to be talking about other things. In her case, it's law and order.
How does Bonehill‑Paine claim to be involved in de‑radicalisation work?
The government's early release of prisoners, just as it happens, various things like that. And she finds herself having to say things like, of course, I'm not recruiting neo-Nazis into the Conservative Party. So it hasn't been a good look.
This story does go further because it's now being reported that Bonehill Payne has been hired as an advisor to Badenoch, reportedly an unpaid advisor. Why would she want to make that decision? What do we understand about it?
Yeah. So he stepped down or announced that he was withdrawing as a candidate after quite a few days of pressure. And he said that Kimmy Bednock had offered him this role as an advisor to a commission which she has set up, which is looking at various aspects of society. And his role is going to be about advising on specifically the aspect of why and how young men become radicalized. Right. But in many ways, that's basically just perpetuating this controversy because she's got people now saying he wasn't fit to be a candidate. Why is he fit to be an advisor? And also, we do need to know a bit more about him before we can be sure that he really is rehabilitated. So it's a kind of mess, which the Conservative Party wouldn't want to be in this time of the year, above all.
What did the Home Office say about claims that Bonehill‑Paine was certified to train officials?
Yes, especially when Reform UK are in such trouble. And actually, it would be a moment for the Conservative Party to be perhaps making some gains, given the series of financial scandals surrounding reform's top brass at the moment. In terms of the de-radicalisation programme, so part of that happened in prison when Bonehill Payne was in prison because of the anti-Semitic abuse at Luciano Berger. Do we know any more about how he has moved away from his extremist views?
Yeah, I mean, he makes a series of claims. He claims he's been working in de-radicalization, claims he's been working in that space around countering extremism.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Who is Joshua Bonehill‑Paine and why did his candidacy cause controversy?
0:00–1:23
2
What reasons did Kemi Badenoch give for appointing a former neo‑Nazi as an adviser?
1:23–2:44
3
How does Bonehill‑Paine claim to be involved in de‑radicalisation work?
2:44–4:02
4
What did the Home Office say about claims that Bonehill‑Paine was certified to train officials?
4:02–5:30
5
How did public polling react to the appointment and what does it reveal about voter attitudes?
5:30–6:50
6
What impact could the scandal have on Kemi Badenoch’s political standing and the Conservative Party?
6:50–8:18
7
What broader lessons does this episode highlight about vetting advisers and party optics?
8:18–9:42