Rep. Andrew Pridgen removed Tory’s whip after comparing COVID vaccines to the Holocaust | Politics news

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Senior MP Andrew Pridgen is no longer a Conservative MP after he compared a COVID vaccine to the Holocaust.

Mr Pridgen has claimed that COVID vaccines “cause massive harm”, and said the program was “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”.

Webb Simon Hart, chair of the Conservative Party, said: “Andrew Pridgen crossed the finish line, causing great offense in the process.

“As a nation, we should be very proud of what has been achieved with the vaccine program. A vaccine is our best defense against COVID.

“Vaccine misinformation causes harm and costs lives. I am therefore removing the whip from Andrew Pridgen with immediate effect, pending an official investigation.”

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The removal of the whip meant that Mr. Pridgen was no longer a Conservative MP but now an Independent MP.

The North West Leicestershire MP is already serving a five-day suspension from the House of Commons for breaching lobbying rules and suggesting a woman investigating him could be influenced by her counterpart.

Mr Pridgen has consistently shared anti-vaccine messages, claiming they are causing harm to people.

In a tweet today he posted a vaccine efficacy chart with the caption: “As a consultant cardiologist told me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.”

Rishi Sunak said in remarks to the Prime Minister that he “totally condemns these kinds of comments in the strongest possible terms”.

“It is clear that it is absolutely unacceptable to make associations and use such language, and I am determined to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism.

“It has absolutely no place in our society. I know the last few years have been challenging for the Jewish community, and I never want them to experience anything like that again.”

Photo: Rishi Sunak has condemned Mr Pridgen’s remarks

Sajid Javid, who was health minister during the pandemic, called the comment “morally repugnant” and said it was “a serious mistake to insinuate that the many good people who played their part in it are part of some kind of conspiracy”.

Mr Pridgen’s comment comes two weeks before Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

Responding to Mr Pridgen’s removal of the whip, John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said: “There is no possibility that Pridgen will be allowed to stand in the next election.

“He cannot claim that he did not realize the level of offense his remarks caused.”

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“This comment is deeply irresponsible, totally inappropriate, and the elected politician should know better,” said Karen Pollock, CEO of the Holocaust Education Trust.

Imperial College London research published in June last year found that the COVID vaccine saved around 20 million lives in its first year.

Imperial research indicates that another 600,000 deaths could have been avoided if the WHO’s goal of vaccinating 40% of the world’s population by the end of 2021 had been met.

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