Ukip immigration spokesperson apologises after retweeting racist cartoon

The Mirror reports that UKIP’s immigration spokesman, John Bickley, has been “slammed for retweeting an outrageous cartoon” which echoed 1960s racism by using a political slogan not dissimilar to that used in the notorious Smethwick by-election in 1964.

Bickley retweeted a cartoon featuring the slogan “If you want a jihadi for a neighbour, vote Labour” which was originally posted on a Twitter account run by David Jones. The Guardian notes the Jones account “regularly shares anti-Muslim and far right memes”. 

The image used in the cartoon is an edited version of one originally produced in August 2015 by The Times’ cartoonist Peter Brookes. It featured people “clambering into a lorry with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in the driver’s seat, with one sitting on top of the vehicle waving a communist flag”. The cartoon was produced at the height of Europe’s refugee crisis with the figures on the lorry depicting refugees and migrants.

The image retweeted by Bickley edited out the cartoon’s original title, ‘Entryism’, and removed the communist flag. 

The cartoon’s slogan bore resemblance to the shocking phrase used during the 1964 Smethwick by-election campaign – “If you want a n***** for a neighbour, vote Labour”. Peter Griffiths, the Conservative candidate and winner of the by-election, refused to condemn the phrase, saying he regarded it as “a manifestation of popular feeling”. 

Bickley later apologised “for any offence caused”. He told the Huffington Post in a statement: “Yesterday I retweeted a cartoon about the potential consequences of Labour’s support for uncontrolled immigration without realising it relied on a rhyme that had been used in an election in 1964 in a racially abusive context. I have since deleted the retweet and apologise for any offence caused.”

Labour politicians including John Spellar, MP for Warley, and MEP Seb Dance called for Bickley to be sacked. Dance referenced the “disgusting Smethwick 1964 slogan” and said the episode reflected the “true face of UKIP”.

UKIP’s top brass refused to condemn Bickley. UKIP leader Paul Nuttall, who is contesting the Stoke-on-Trent by-election next week, defended Bickley’s “lack of understanding” and said, “He’s got my support, absolutely, he’s apologised for it.” 

When political correspondent Robert Peston tweeted a message asking whether Bickley’s actions were acceptable to UKIP, the party’s principal donor, Arron Banks, responded “Seems eminently accurate to me”.

The incident is the latest in a long line of abusive posts against Muslims perpetrated or supported by UKIP representatives and candidates over the years. Back in July 2016, the Loughborough Echo reported on an investigation launched by the party after a number of anti-Muslim posts on a Facebook page purportedly belonging to a Ukip councillor on Shepshed Town council, Timothy Paul Hicks, were found. A number of posts with “tasteless captions aimed at the Muslim faith” were found on the page of an individual named Tim Paul Hicks, prompting a probe by UKIP’s Charnwood branch.

In Caerphilly, Bobby Douglas was prevented from standing in the Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen council by-election in September 2015 after a number of offensive comments against Muslims and migrants were discovered on his Facebook profile. 

Steve Latham, who stood as the party’s candidate for West Bromwich East in the 2015 General Election, was banned from future elections after making a number of comments on his Facebook page, including statements that Islam was an “evil cult” which had “infiltrated the Labour Party”, and that “European integration amounts to genocide”.