NIGEL Farage’s candidate in Glasgow North has been accused of Islamophobia by one of the country’s leading anti-racist organisations.
Hope Not Hate say the Brexit Party’s Dionne Cocozza has frequently shared posts on her social media that portray Muslims as “inherently violent and a threat to the rest of the population”.
Labour and the SNP have criticised the Eurosceptic.
The investigation by the group followed a report in the Glasgow University student newspaper, the Glasgow Guardian.
Cocozza yesterday deleted her Twitter account.
Just two weeks ago the candidate shared a number of posts by the far-right Politicalite website claiming there was a planned Muslim “takeover”.
In October 2018 Cocozza shared a tweet suggesting that “Germany will become African and Islamic if mass migration isn’t stopped” from Voice of Europe
Voice of Europe is an Islamophobic website and Twitter account which often publishes well-known far-right activists.
Hope Not Hate say they believe Cocozza has a “strong belief” that white people are being discriminated against.
In one tweet highlighted by the group, Cocozza claimed “there’s mosk [sic] schools underground in UK”.
This ended up in a debate with a now-deleted Twitter account. After backtracking on her first statement, she ends her last tweet saying: “You can’t say anything if your [sic] white 2019”.
Pam Duncan-Glancy, Labour’s candidate in Glasgow North said: “Racism and Islamophobia have no place in our society or our politics. As candidates we have a duty to represent everyone in the constituency and with views like that it is clear that the Dionne Cocozza is not fit to do so.
“One of the things that I value the most about Glasgow is our diversity. We all benefit from a society that celebrates our differences. I cannot tolerate hatred in any form.”
An SNP spokesperson described Cocozza’s tweets as “Islamophobia of the worst kind.”
“These attitudes cannot and will not be tolerated in modern politics, and voters will be appalled that the Brexit party considered Ms Cocozza a suitable candidate for Glasgow North.”
Neither Cocozza nor the Brexit Party responded to requests for a comment.
The Brexit Party have already lost one of the 16 Scottish General Election candidates announced just last week.
Victor Robert Farrell, an evangelical pastor from Methil, was kicked out after claiming to be at “war” with lesbians, gay, bisexual and trans people.
His selection as the candidate for Glenrothes led to the resignation of the party’s only Scottish MEP, Louis Steadman Bryce.
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