Andrew Bridgen suspended from Tory party over remarks on Covid-19 vaccine

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen was already undergoing a five-day suspension from Parliament for violating the rules on lobbying. However, following his remarks over the Covid-19 vaccine, his whip has been withdrawn.

Agencies
MP Andrew Bridgen has been suspended from Conservative Party for spreading false information on the Covid-19 vaccine. The whip was stripped from Bridgen after he reiterated anti-vaccine beliefs in a highly denounced tweet earlier today, comparing the Covid jab with the Holocaust.

Having the whip withdrawn means that Andrew Bridgen is no longer a Conservative MP and with immediate effect, he is now an independent within the parliament. His whip was suspended while he was already undergoing a five-day suspension on a separate issue.

While under suspension, Andrew Bridgen took to Twitter, and posted information published by Zero Hedge, a far-right libertarian financial blog and news aggregator. He also posted a Times article today on the 1,000 more fatalities that have occurred as the NHS struggles with staff shortages and strikes.


Tweeting a graph from Zero Hedge showing health risks from Covid vaccines, Bridgen claimed in the now-deleted tweet, “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust”.

In another tweet, he questioned if the failure of NHS is responsible for the current excess deaths in all other countries that administered the gene therapy mRNA “vaccines”.

COVID XBB.1.5 Variant: What's Behind The Nickname 'Kraken'?
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The World Health Organisation has warned the new COVID variant XBB.1.5 is the "most transmissible yet", with the "recombinant" new strain of Omicron nicknamed "kraken"


The World Health Organisation has warned the new COVID variant XBB.1.5 is the "most transmissible yet", with the "recombinant" new strain of Omicron nicknamed "kraken"
XBB.1.5 was first identified in the US in October and catapulted to people's attention in the new year when it was revealed 40% of infections in the country were caused by the variant.


XBB.1.5 was first identified in the US in October and catapulted to people's attention in the new year when it was revealed 40% of infections in the country were caused by the variant.
The nickname kraken has quickly gained traction online, perhaps because of how well the image of a mythological monster matches a fiendishly evolving virus. It appears to have first been suggested for the COVID variant on Twitter by evolutionary biologist Professor T. Ryan Gregory.


The nickname kraken has quickly gained traction online, perhaps because of how well the image of a mythological monster matches a fiendishly evolving virus. It appears to have first been suggested fo..
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"This year, some of us decided that we needed nicknames for variants worth watching, given that the WHO wasn't giving any new names under their system," he wrote. "We've been using mythological creature names for variants that are being discussed outside of technical discussions."


"This year, some of us decided that we needed nicknames for variants worth watching, given that the WHO wasn't giving any new names under their system," he wrote. "We've been using mythological creat..
Read More
Originating in Scandinavian folklore, the kraken is a many-tentacled sea monster that earned its place in legend for destroying entire ships and dragging sailors to their death. XBB.1.5 is a sub-variant of Omicron, which is why it does not have a Greek letter of its own.


Originating in Scandinavian folklore, the kraken is a many-tentacled sea monster that earned its place in legend for destroying entire ships and dragging sailors to their death. XBB.1.5 is a sub-vari..
Read More
XBB.1.5 is a mutated version of Omicron XBB, which was first detected in India in August. XBB.1.5 has now been found in 25 countries. XBB can evade the body's immune system and XBB.1.5 is just as skilled at doing so - with the added bonus (from the virus's perspective) of being better at "binding" to cells, meaning it can spread more easily.


XBB.1.5 is a mutated version of Omicron XBB, which was first detected in India in August. XBB.1.5 has now been found in 25 countries. XBB can evade the body's immune system and XBB.1.5 is just as ski..
Read More
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead for COVID, told a press conference on Wednesday: "We are concerned about its growth advantage, in particular in some countries in Europe and in the US. "Our concern is how transmissible it is… and the more this virus circulates, the more opportunities it will have to change."


Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead for COVID, told a press conference on Wednesday: "We are concerned about its growth advantage, in particular in some countries in Europe and in the US...
Read More
She said there is no data yet to prove that XBB.1.5 causes more severe disease, but added the WHO is working on a new risk assessment of the variant that it expects to release soon.


She said there is no data yet to prove that XBB.1.5 causes more severe disease, but added the WHO is working on a new risk assessment of the variant that it expects to release soon.
With the variant more easily spread, it is likely more people will get infected, which could lead to severe outcomes, including long COVID.

With the variant more easily spread, it is likely more people will get infected, which could lead to severe outcomes, including long COVID.

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According to Tory chief whip Simon Hart, Andrew’s comments on Wednesday had "crossed a line" and caused tremendous offence. His remarks were even denounced by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who called the comparison of Covid jab with the Holocaust "utterly unacceptable".

Andrew Bridgen’s statements were denounced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said that the parallel was "completely inappropriate." According to Hart, Bridgen would be stripped of the party whip, making him an independent throughout the formal probe.

The MP was already undergoing a five-day suspension from Parliament for violating the rules on registering financial interests. The Holocaust Educational Trust's chief executive, Karen Pollock, called Bridgen’s comments "highly irresponsible and wholly inappropriate".

Bridgen should not be allowed to run for the Tories in the upcoming election, according to Lord Mann, an independent peer and former Labour MP who advises the government on anti-Semitism. "He cannot claim that he didn't realise the level of offence that his remarks cause," he added.
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FAQs:

  1. For how many days Andrew Bridgen has been suspended?
    Whip has been withdrawn from Tory MP Andrew Bridgen
  2. When was Andrew Bridgen born?
    28 October, 1964
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