London: Britain’s ruling Conservatives have suspended a Muslim candidate in a key seat following allegations he plotted with the far right English Defence League (EDL) to stir up racial tension to help win votes in May’s election.
Afzal Ameen, a parliamentary candidate in Dudley North in central England, was shown in video footage and telephone recordings obtained by the Mail on Sunday newspaper trying to persuade the EDL to announce a march against a new mosque in the area.
Ameen then allegedly planned to take the credit for brokering the suspension of the protest.
A spokesman for the Conservative Party said Ameen had been suspended with immediate effect, pending an investigation.
“The Conservative Party views this as a matter of extremely serious concern,” he said.
Ameen has denied the allegations, telling the Independent on Sunday newspaper that the claims were based on small snippets of over 57 hours of meetings he had held with the local Muslim community and the leadership of the EDL, a street protest movement.
The allegations are damaging to a Conservative party that needs to win seats such as Dudley North, currently held by opposition Labour on a tiny majority, to have a chance of obtaining a majority on May 7.
The Conservatives have governed Britain in coalition with the Liberal Democrats since 2010.
Opinion polls currently show neither the Conservatives nor Labour likely to win enough seats to form a majority government in May. Parties such as the anti-EU UKIP and the Scottish Nationalist SNP could have a decisive role in the outcome.
UKIP, a party that has quickly grown in popularity, has had to suspend a number of its own parliamentary candidates, including two on Friday over separate claims about expenses and a workplace incident.
