The Green Party’s newly selected Makerfield by-election candidate has pulled out within hours after he shared a post calling an arson attack on Jewish ambulances in north London a ‘false flag’ operation.
Chris Kennedy, a registered nurse and child safeguarding specialist, was selected as the party’s candidate on Thursday morning but withdrew from the contest by early evening.
The party said his departure was for ‘personal and family reasons’.
B but it has since emerged that questions were raised about a series of posts shared by Mr Kennedy online.
According to The Times, Mr Kennedy had circulated an Instagram video referring to the arrests of two men over the Golders Green ambulance arson incident as ‘total bulls*** to keep the false flag flying’.
He is also said to have reshared material from a user described as a ‘proud ethno-nationalist’, which questioned the official response to the attack.
A false flag operation is when an act is perpetrated by someone who makes it look like someone else did it. The name comes from 16th century warships who would attack while flying the flag of another country.
A Green Party spokesperson said: ‘These posts don’t reflect the views of The Green Party. We have spoken to Chris about these posts, and he has now deleted them. He apologises for the offence caused.’
Chris Kennedy, a registered nurse and child safeguarding specialist, was selected as the party’s candidate
Above is one the social posts about the Golders Green ambulances attack that Mr Kennedy shared
Kennedy also shared a post by Hugh Anthony, who describes himself as a ‘proud ethno-nationalist’, that said the response to the arson attack in Golders Green on March 23 made ‘no sense’.
Anthony wrote: ‘How does someone manage to burn 3 ambulances, get the entire country in uproar, make the government put 264 more police units into the community, make the King become a patron of a charity, and increase the terror threat level in the UK, only to be put on bail? This makes no sense.’
The party reiterated that his withdrawal stood, adding that nominations would be reopened so a replacement candidate could be selected ahead of polling day.
The Greens are hoping to build on their recent political success at the high-profile by-election which sees Labour’s Andy Burnham hoping to win so he can re-enter Parliament and challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Mr Kennedy’s brief campaign launch had earlier focused on cost-of-living pressures, public services and housing, with the candidate saying voters deserved ‘real support’ and pledging policies on ‘warmer homes, lower bills, and a fairer economy’.
Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north-west London, were set on fire (pictured) in the early hours of March 23
It caused gas canisters stored in the vehicles (pictured, in the aftermath) to explode
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Green Party candidate in Makerfield QUITS by-election race just hours after being unveiled
The Greens said at the time of his withdrawal that they wished him well and understood ‘family has to come first’, while insisting the party would continue its efforts in the constituency.
A party spokesperson said: ‘We believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice at this by-election, and the Green Party will be standing to offer exactly that.’
The Green party said previously: ‘We wish Chris the best and understand that family has to come first.
‘As a party, we are re-opening nominations now because we believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice at this by-election, and the Green Party will be standing to offer exactly that.
‘Across the country, more and more voters are turning away from the old parties and looking for politicians who will genuinely stand up for their communities.
‘We will also be redoubling our efforts on campaigning to expose the risk of Reform, a party who seeks to divide our communities.
‘This election has to be about how to make the super-rich pay their fair share, how we tackle the cost-of-living crisis with lower bills and affordable housing, and how we protect our public services and our green spaces.
‘It has to be about offering Makerfield hope over hate.’
Nominations for a replacement candidate will open tomorrow and a selection meeting is planned for Monday evening.
