Brexit Party candidate claimed Tory Islamophobia was 'made up by the left'

A Brexit Party candidate has sparked a backlash after claiming Tory Islamophobia was “made up”.

Salmon tycoon Lance Forman said the row was invented “by the left” to distract from anti-Semitic racism in Labour .

In Twitter messages from 2017 to 2018, he also said Islamophobia was “reactive” and “not enough Muslims are standing up for the Jews”.

And he described Jeremy Corbyn as a Nazi and “fascist”, saying: “It’s undeniable.”

Labour claimed the comments were “disgraceful, racist and bigoted” while the Muslim Council of Britain said “dismissing evidence of Islamophobia” must not be tolerated.

But the Brexit Party – for whom Mr Forman is standing in London in the May 23 EU elections – dismissed concerns, describing the Mirror’s enquiries as “desperate”.

Mr Forman’s comment about Tory Islamophobia was made in May 2018, one day after the Muslim Council called for an independent inquiry into the Conservative Party.

The Council listed a string of incidents that it said were happening “more than weekly” involving Tory representatives.

However, Mr Forman wrote on Twitter on May 31: “There is no problem of Islamophobia in the Tory party.

“It’s made up by the left to divert attention from anti-Semitic racism in Labour.”

In another message from February 2017, Mr Forman replied to a tweet about whether Muslims “somehow deserve” Islamophobia by saying: “Anti-Semitism is a hatred of Jews. Islamophobia is a fear of Muslims.

“The former is proactive, the latter reactive. Not the same.”

In another from August 2018 he wrote: “The Conservative Party does not have a problem with Islamophobia.

“The whole country (including Muslims) have a problem with Islamism. Except of course Jeremy Corbyn who hates Britain and welcomes ISIS fighters back.”

Labour Party Chair Ian Lavery said: “These comments are disgraceful, racist and bigoted, and he should be removed from the Brexit Party’s list of candidates immediately.

“Whether people voted Leave or Remain, they deserve so much better than this sort of divisive and extremist approach.

“This language only fuels divisions and tensions when we need to bring people together.”

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “We are now seeing more and more political representatives dismissing evidence of Islamophobia as a political tool, a distraction or a smear.

“This cannot and should not be tolerated in public office and we hope Mr Farage ensures such views belittling racism have no place in his Party.”

Mr Forman, whose father was a Holocaust survivor who provided security for the Jewish community, has been a major critic of Jeremy Corbyn’s approach to Labour anti-Semitism.

In July 2018 he described the Labour leader as a Nazi.

He wrote: “Corbyn is an economic nationalist. He is also a socialist. Thus he is a national socialist. National socialism is Nazi ideology which is fascism. Fascism is far right.

“Sorry you may not like to hear the truth but it’s undeniable.”

In the same month he slammed Labour’s approach to anti-Semitism by saying: “Not enough Muslims are standing up for the Jews on this.

“There are three times as many Muslim votes. Attack Israel and ‘most’ Muslims will support you.”

Separately the businessman – whose family firm H Forman & Son makes the “world’s finest smoked salmon” – also called for the end of the minimum wage in a tweet from August 2018.

He replied to a Twitter user calling for a £10.50 minimum by saying: “Even better if there was no minimum wage, less tax, less planning regulation allowing for more housebuilding and cheaper homes.

“We need to cut the cost of living to improve peoples’ living standards. Marking wages higher makes UK uncompetitive globally.”

It is understood the Brexit Party – which Nigel Farage claimed would be “intolerant of intolerance” – is not dropping Mr Forman as a candidate.

A Brexit Party spokesman told the Mirror: “Good luck with your slightly desperate outrage archaeology.”