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| General election 2019: Hodge Hill candidate suspended over anti-Semitic tweets | General election 2019: Hodge Hill candidate suspended over anti-Semitic tweets |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Liberal Democrats have suspended an election candidate over alleged anti-Semitic and racist social media posts. | The Liberal Democrats have suspended an election candidate over alleged anti-Semitic and racist social media posts. |
| Waheed Rafiq was standing in Birmingham Hodge Hill and it is too late for the party to put forward a new candidate. | |
| A party spokesman said the suspension decision was made two hours after it was made aware of the material. | A party spokesman said the suspension decision was made two hours after it was made aware of the material. |
| Mr Rafiq said he had been "hacked" and would ask Twitter and Facebook to investigate. | Mr Rafiq said he had been "hacked" and would ask Twitter and Facebook to investigate. |
| In some of the posts uncovered by Buzzfeed - dating from 2010 to 2014 - Mr Rafiq allegedly stated he wanted to kiss "cute black women" and appeared to endorse the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. | |
| In a statement, the Lib Dems said the posts "are clearly and unambiguously anti-Semitic and bring the party into disrepute, and are also of material disagreement with the fundamental values and objectives of the party". | In a statement, the Lib Dems said the posts "are clearly and unambiguously anti-Semitic and bring the party into disrepute, and are also of material disagreement with the fundamental values and objectives of the party". |
| Mr Rafiq said: "I am very upset by these remarks. I have been hacked, I am not this type of person. | Mr Rafiq said: "I am very upset by these remarks. I have been hacked, I am not this type of person. |
| "It has not been confirmed to me by the party that I have been suspended, though I can understand the party's position in terms of wanting to distance themselves from someone who has the type of character these remarks imply. | "It has not been confirmed to me by the party that I have been suspended, though I can understand the party's position in terms of wanting to distance themselves from someone who has the type of character these remarks imply. |
| "But they are not my remarks and I will be asking Facebook and Twitter to investigate." | "But they are not my remarks and I will be asking Facebook and Twitter to investigate." |
| In a further statement sent to the BBC, Mr Rafiq said in response to the party's decision: "I am absolutely shocked and horrified that I am being left alone in the dark to deal with the press. | |
| "There are hundreds of my posts that support Israel and my fellow Jewish people who have the right to defend themselves." | |
| He said he is "officially appealing against this" and asked the party to reinstate him. | |
| The candidates standing in Hodge Hill are: | The candidates standing in Hodge Hill are: |
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