{"id":181345,"date":"2023-11-05T17:14:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T17:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/?p=181345"},"modified":"2023-11-05T17:14:54","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T17:14:54","slug":"top-tory-lee-anderson-backs-fundraising-appeal-campaign-for-racist-mp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/world-news\/top-tory-lee-anderson-backs-fundraising-appeal-campaign-for-racist-mp\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Tory Lee Anderson backs fundraising appeal campaign for racist MP"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Top Tory Lee Anderson backs fundraising appeal campaign for &#8216;war hero&#8217; party MP Bob Stewart after ex-army officer, 74,was convicted of racially abusing political activist by telling him to &#8216;go back to Bahrain&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bob Stewart, MP for Beckenham voluntarily surrendered the Tory party whip<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He was convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence on Friday\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A top Tory has backed a fundraising campaign to help a party MP convicted of racist abuse launch an appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative Party chairman Lee Anderson has urged people to back the crowdfunding effort for &#8216;war hero&#8217; Bob Stewart.<\/p>\n<p>The 74-year-old former British Army colonel, who was decorated for his service in Bosnia, was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court on Friday of racially abusing an activist by telling him to &#8216;go back to Bahrain&#8217; at a protest.<\/p>\n<p>The Beckenham MP later\u00a0surrendered the Conservative whip while he considers an appeal, meaning he will sit as an independent in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n<p>Writing on X, Mr Anderson said Col Stewart was &#8216;a friend and war hero&#8217; and a drinking buddy who had &#8216;<span>seen things in battle that no other person would want to see&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8216;He has served his country and been decorated at the highest level for bravery,&#8217; he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8216;This man is now deemed a criminal in his 70s after a lifetime of public service. His legal bills are huge so please can you help?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/04\/14\/77400351-12710167-image-a-8_1699109654638.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Colonel Bob Stewart, MP for Beckenham, pictured outside Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court on Friday, has surrendered the Tory Party whip after being convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/05\/16\/77426749-0-image-a-1_1699200763340.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Writing on X, Mr Anderson said Col Stewart was &#8216;a friend and war hero&#8217; and a drinking buddy who had &#8216; seen things in battle that no other person would want to see&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/05\/16\/77426759-0-image-a-2_1699200765449.jpg\" height=\"313\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;He has served his country and been decorated at the highest level for bravery,&#8217; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Labour and the Liberal Democrats led calls for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak\u00a0to act against the &#8216;totally unacceptable&#8217; behaviour outlined in court.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring found Mr Stewart guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence and handed him a fine of \u00a3600, with additional legal costs bringing the total to \u00a31,435.<\/p>\n<p>It came after the court had been told that the MP had become embroiled in a row with a protester outside the Foreign Office&#8217;s Lancaster House in Westminster on December 14 last year.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Stewart had been attending an event hosted by the Bahraini embassy when Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei shouted &#8216;Bob Stewart, for how much did you sell yourself to the Bahraini regime?&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>During a heated exchange, Mr Stewart replied: &#8216;Go away, I hate you. You make a lot of fuss. Go back to Bahrain.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>He also told Mr Alwadaei: &#8216;You&#8217;re taking money off my country, go away!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/04\/14\/77400349-12710167-image-a-9_1699109720348.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He was found guilty of abusing Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei by telling him to &#8216;go back to Bahrain&#8217; and &#8216;you&#8217;re taking money off my country, go away!&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mr Alwadaei told the court that he was there because he had been beaten and tortured in Bahrain during the Arab Spring and said if he did return, he would &#8216;undoubtedly be killed and tortured&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>He claimed Stewart had gone on trips to Bahrain funded by the Bahraini regime and said Stewart&#8217;s comments had made him\u00a0feel &#8216;not safe&#8217;. He said he felt &#8216;dehumanised&#8217; and &#8216;not welcomed in the UK.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Goldspring, despite mentioning Mr Stewart&#8217;s &#8216;immense positive character&#8217;, remarked: &#8216;I accept he is not racist per se, but that is not the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Good men can do bad things.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>After giving his verdict at Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court, he fined the MP \u00a3600, with additional legal costs bringing the total to \u00a31,435. He said Stewart will not be jailed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The MP told the court that he is &#8216;not a racist&#8217; and that it had been &#8216;extremely offensive&#8217; for the demonstrator to suggest he was &#8216;corrupt&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Stewart, a former British Army officer who was stationed in Bahrain in 1969, said he is a &#8216;friend&#8217; of the Middle Eastern country.<\/p>\n<p>He went on: &#8216;I&#8217;ve spent my whole life in a way defending minorities and people of different colours.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Following his conviction, Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said Mr Sunak &#8216;urgently needs to get his house in order&#8217; and remove the whip from Mr Stewart after his &#8216;totally unacceptable&#8217; behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain had warned that failing to remove the whip would &#8216;send a dangerous message that behaviour like this is acceptable&#8217;.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the whip and what does losing it mean for an MP?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Most MPs in Westminster are members of a political party and are said to hold that party&#8217;s whip.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The chief whip is the enforcer of discipline among the ranks of backbenchers. They inform individual MPs which way they should vote at a particular division and when they should be in parliament.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Losing the whip is the strongest sanction a party has against an individual MP.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock lost the Tory Party whip after he went to Australia to participate in &#8216;I&#8217;m a Celebrity&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When an MP loses the whip, they are suspended from the party and continue to sit in Westminster as an independent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For a Tory MP it also means they are no longer members of the 1922 Committee who have the power, through the writing of letters, to sack their leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/04\/15\/77401281-12710167-image-a-12_1699111696151.jpg\" height=\"388\" width=\"586\"><\/p>\n<p>When an MP loses their party whip they can continue to sit on the green benches as an independent. There are currently 18 independent MPs at Westminster\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, by losing the whip, an MP is unlikely to be allowed to run for election as a candidate for their former party, unless the chief whip readmits them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>MPs can lose the whip for failing to vote at an important vote &#8211; described confusingly as a three-line whip.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An MP who is not available for a three-line whip can ask the chief whip for permission who will try and &#8216;pair&#8217; them with an opposing MP who also cannot attend.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Including Mr Stewart, there are currently 18 MPs who are sitting as independents, including the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and Dianne Abbott.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Recently they were joined by Crispin Blunt and Peter Bone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Bridgen had previously lost the Tory Party whip but joined the Reclaim Party and currently sits as their sole MP.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12712839\/Top-Tory-Lee-Anderson-backs-fundraising-appeal-campaign-racist-Bob-Stewart.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top Tory Lee Anderson backs fundraising appeal campaign for &#8216;war hero&#8217; party MP Bob Stewart after ex-army officer, 74,was convicted of racially abusing political activist by telling him to &#8216;go [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Top Tory Lee Anderson backs fundraising appeal campaign for racist MP - Hot World Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/world-news\/top-tory-lee-anderson-backs-fundraising-appeal-campaign-for-racist-mp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Tory Lee Anderson backs fundraising appeal campaign for racist MP - Hot World Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Top Tory Lee Anderson backs fundraising appeal campaign for &#8216;war hero&#8217; 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