Tory councillor suspended for retweeting pro-Tommy Robinson post readmitted to party just 13 days later
Andrew Bowles claims he was 'supporting the process of free speech'
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Your support makes all the difference.A Conservative councillor who was suspended after he retweeted an image describing Tommy Robinson as a “patriot” has been readmitted to the party 13 days later.
Andrew Bowles, the leader of Swale Borough Council, shared a post on Twitter protesting about Robinson’s ban from Facebook and Instagram.
He claimed he was “supporting the process of free speech” but was suspended by the party on 6 March.
Less than two weeks later he has been allowed to return to the party following an investigation.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), who has repeatedly called for an inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party, said greater transparency was needed.
"It is deeply concerning that the Conservative Party considers a 13-day suspension appropriate for retweeting support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson,” an MCB spokesperson said.
"There needs to be greater transparency in the decision making and the actions being taken. For example, how many other individuals who have engaged in racism have been allowed back into the Party, and under what circumstances?
"The types of issues in the handling of complaints in the Party, continues to grow on a weekly basis. An independent inquiry is what's needed and we hope the Party will listen."
The Tories have so far suspended 40 members in the last month for posting Islamophobic or racist comments on social media.
The party has been accused of being “institutionally Islamophobic” by the party’s former chair, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi.
“The mayoral campaign clearly showed me that there is a strand within the party for whom Islamophobia is a deliberate political strategy – and that breaks my heart,” she said on talkRADIO.
The Conservative Party declined to comment.
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