Rishi Sunak has been urged to de-select Liz Truss as a Tory election candidate after she appeared on a platform founded by a YouTuber who made comments about raping a Labour MP.
Labour’s Jess Phillips has written to the prime minister saying that Carl Benjamin, founder of the Lotus Eaters, “has despicable views about violence against women”.
Mr Benjamin claimed he was being “attacked and misrepresented” and said his previous comments were a “joke”.
Mr Benjamin wrote on Twitter in 2016 that he “wouldn’t even rape” Ms Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley.
In 2019, when he was standing to be a UKIP MEP, he refused to apologise and later went on to say: “I’ve been in a lot of trouble for my hardline stance of not even raping her. I suppose with enough pressure I might cave. But let’s be honest, nobody’s got that much beer.”
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A source close to Ms Truss said she has “no relationship with Carl Benjamin”.
However, Ms Phillips said Mr Sunak has a responsibility to “uphold high standards among your MPs and candidates” and should bar Ms Truss from standing in the election.
She called the Lotus Eaters a “far-right” and “hateful” platform and claimed that “as well as these misogynistic views” Mr Benjamin had promoted conspiracy theories about immigration.
She added: "It is clear that anyone willing to appear on this hateful platform is not suitable to be a candidate for any political party.
I was under the impression Truss had roundly proven herself unsuitable for any political party already, did anyone really need further evidence?
I’m not sure she is a fit and proper person to own a pet or operate heavy machinery. Perhaps they just lie to her that she is standing to keep her further mischief.