A veteran Tory MP has removed his party whip after comparing the introduction of the Covid vaccine during the pandemic to the Holocaust.
Andrew Bridgen (58) was suspended by the Conservatives after he condemned a tweet he posted this morning.
The MP for North West Leicestershire took to Twitter to share an article about the Pfizer and Moderna syringes based on safety data released by US health officials, adding: “As a consultant cardiologist told me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.’
Senior Tory MPs lined up to criticize his comments. One said they were a “disgrace”, and another warned he would have “blood on his hands” if he stopped vaccinating people.
It ends a tumultuous time for the newly crowned MP. He is currently serving a five-day Commons ban on lobbying.
Andrew Bridgen shared an article on Twitter about the Pfizer and Moderna pranks based on safety data released by US health officials
The Tory MP for North West Leicestershire said: “As a consultant cardiologist told me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.”
Chief Whip Simon Hart said his tweet “crossed the line” and removed the whip with “immediate effect” pending a formal investigation
The tweet was viewed 150,000 times in just two hours, and dozens of users of the social media platform criticized the “disgusting analogy” and labeled it “dangerous”.
Announcing Mr Bridgen’s suspension, Chief Whip Simon Hart said the MP had “crossed a line and caused great offence” as a result.
“As a nation we should be very proud of what has been achieved with the vaccination programme,” he said.
“The vaccine is the best defense against Covid that we have. Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives.
“I therefore withdraw the whip from Andrew Bridgen, with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation.”
A Tory friend of Mr. Bridgen told MailOnline the situation was “really sad” and overshadowed “good work” he had done in the past.
“If this is the end of his career, it is sad,” said the MP.
But Simon Clarke, Tory MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said the tweet was “disgraceful”.
And Michael Fabricant, Tory MP for Lichfield, said if Mr Bridgen’s comment “stops people getting vaccinated and causes deaths as a direct result, he will have blood on his hands”.
“His tweets are completely irresponsible,” he added.
Lord Mann, the government’s anti-Semitism adviser, said: “There is no way Bridgen can stand in the next general election. He can’t say he didn’t realize how offensive his comments were.
This is not the first time that Mr Bridgen has been criticized for his views on Covid vaccines.
He tweeted about an article in a publication affiliated with the prestigious British Medical Journal and claimed to have “confirmed” that the vaccine “does more harm than good for younger people”.
“Marketing should be suspended and children should not be put at risk by these experimental mRNA treatments,” he said.
But the BMJ hit back at Mr Bridgen last week, arguing that his comment was “misleading” for a number of reasons.
A spokesman for the publication, which began in 1840, said: “The aim of the JME is to promote the ethical analysis of important healthcare issues.
“The views, analyzes and conclusions drawn in the content belong to the authors, not to the journal itself.
The article develops an argument about the ethics of mandatory booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna-Covid vaccines at some American universities.
Anti-vaccination protesters show their support for Andrew Bridgen at London’s Westminster tube station today
“It is not claimed that Covid vaccines are unsafe, only that the benefit/risk balance does not justify booster shots in students based on the available evidence, according to the authors.”
And in December, Mr Bridgen claimed that someone in a “prominent leadership role” at the British Heart Foundation had “covered up clear data showing that the mRNA vaccine increases inflammation of the heart arteries”.
Mr Bridgen did not provide any evidence to back up his claims, other than that they came from a “whistleblower from a very reliable source”.
The BHF argued that it did not recognize Mr Bridgen’s statements and strongly denied his allegations.
The MP is currently on the second day of a five-day suspension from the House of Commons.
The move was recommended by the Standards Committee after Mr Bridgen failed to declare a financial interest in Mere Plantations – a reforestation company with links to Ghana but based in the UK – which he campaigned for.
A commission report said he failed to disclose receiving £12,000 from the firm in “eight emails to ministers and in five meetings with government officials”.
Mr Bridgen’s actions were described as “careless and arrogant” and resulted in him breaching MPs’ code of conduct.
The commission also found that he tried to influence Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone, who led the investigation.
He reportedly told her he had heard a “rumor” that she would only be knighted if she judged him.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
