UK Conservative MP suspended from party for comparing COVID vaccine to Holocaust

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Andrew Bridgen, a Conservative lawmaker in the UK, has been suspended from the party on Wednesday after he compared COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.

Bridgen, the North West Leicestershire MP, on Wednesday shared a vaccine efficacy chart on Twitter and said: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."

His remarks were highly criticized by many, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Speaking in the Commons at Prime Minister's Questions, Sunak condemned the remarks, saying it was "utterly unacceptable."

Simon Hart, the chief whip for the governing Conservative Party, said Bridgen "has crossed a line, causing great offence in the process."

"Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives. I am therefore removing the whip from Andrew Bridgen with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation," Hart added.

The controversial tweet was later seen deleted from his social media account.

On Monday, Bridgen was suspended from the House of Commons for five days after being found to have breached lobbying rules, according to local media reports.