MP Andrew Bridgen has been expelled from the Conservative Party for comparing Covid-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.
He accused the Tories of kicking him out “under false pretences” and said he intends to run against the party at the next election, as he hit out at “corruption, collusion and cover-ups”.
The MP for North West Leicestershire had already lost the party whip, meaning he was sitting in the Commons as an independent.
My expulsion from the Conservative Party under false pretences only confirms the toxic culture which plagues our political system.
Above all else this is an issue of freedom of speech. No elected Member of Parliament should ever be penalised for speaking on behalf of those who… https://t.co/bJOOyy6wia
— Andrew Bridgen (@ABridgen) April 26, 2023
The Tories announced on Wednesday that they had stripped him of his party membership as well.
“Mr Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party on April 12 following the recommendation of a disciplinary panel. He has 28 days from this date to appeal,” a spokesman said.
It was understood that the disciplinary panel found against him for claiming vaccines were the “biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”, rather than for breaching lobbying rules.
Mr Bridgen went on to have an angry confrontation with deputy party chairman Lee Anderson in a parliamentary restaurant after his expulsion was made public before the appeal date.
In a statement, the MP said: “My expulsion from the Conservative Party under false pretences only confirms the culture of corruption, collusion and cover-ups which plagues our political system.
“I am grateful for my newfound freedom and will continue to fight for justice for all those harmed, injured and bereaved due to governmental incompetence.
“I will continue to serve my constituents as I was elected to do and intend to stand again at the next election.”
He later added that he was prepared to run against the Conservatives, but did not say whether he would do as an independent or for a rival party.
The regular critic of vaccines lost the whip in January after claiming they were “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the comments as “utterly unacceptable”.
Earlier that month, Mr Bridgen was handed a five-day suspension for breaking the MPs’ code of conduct banning lobbying.
He was found to have committed a series of breaches including an “unacceptable attack upon the integrity” of then standards commissioner Kathryn Stone.
