Politics

Tory candidate calls for Bristol to be bombed following Kill the Bill protests

A Conservative council candidate called for Bristol to be bombed after Kill the Bill protests in the city turned ugly.

Stephen Halbhuber, the Tory candidate for Eastbourne Council, faced fierce criticism after tweeting “just bomb Bristol” in response to a video showing a number of people painting graffiti on a building and throwing objects into a crowd watching below.

People branded the response “utterly disgraceful” while Labour MPs have been encouraged to tweet and tag Conservative co-chair Amanda Milling and CCHQ following Mr Halhuber’s remarks, according to Patrick Maguire of The Times.

Ms Milling responded to say Mr Halbhuber had been contacted, adding that his comments were “completely unacceptable”.

Mr Halbhuber posted an apology for the comments on Monday evening, saying his comments “fell beneath” expected standards of “propriety and tolerance”.

“I want to apologise unreservedly for my comments last night, and for any offence caused,” he tweeted.

“Needless to say, it is not something that I believe, or would advocate for. In the cold light of day, I completely regret them.”

Related: Britain’s slide into authoritarianism: How the Tories are building a one-party state

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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