September 28, 2021 11.55 am This story is over 30 months old

Lincoln MP deletes fascist group retweet after intense backlash

The NBU are a fascist revival group
Karl McCartney | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney has come under scrutiny for retweeting a post from a political group that champions fascism, which he has now removed.

Mr McCartney shared a tweet from New British Union West Midlands to his profile which criticised the media for their coverage of the petrol panic buying across the country.

The tweet was a screenshot from Whartons Shell Garage, which said that they are not short of fuel and it is in fact a case of everyone panicking by listening to the media, with NBU saying: “When a franchised fuel station really has to tell you to turn off your TV.”

Karl McCartney retweeted the NBU post on his page on Monday evening, but has since removed it.

The retweet from Lincoln’s MP has since been deleted from his timeline, after many pointed out what the New British Union stands for.

The NBU, formed in 2013, is a revival of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, run by former Britain First and Scottish BNP leader Gary Raikes.

According to the NBU’s website, the group calls for “a new machine, a new nation and a new union” and demands that British people aren’t replaced by “a population that will destroy all our ancestors fought to uphold.”

Pictures on the NBU website show an alarming similarity to that of the Nazi Party, and leader Gary Raikes says on one of their pages: “A British child born at the start of the 21st century is likely to enter their years of retirement as a member of the British ethnic minority. The question is: what are you going to do about it?”

The NBU claims that Britain is in “demographic decline” due to “foreign immigration”. | Photo: New British Union website

The Lincolnite questioned Lincoln’s MP on this retweet, asking whether it was wise to broadcast the views of a political group as divisive and controversial as the New British Union.

In a statement of reply, Mr McCartney said: “Of course, I disagree wholeheartedly with what NBU West Midlands stand for. The post by Whartons Garage was what caught my notice. The retweet has since been deleted.”

McCartney came under intense scrutiny for his retweeting of the fascist group, with former Lincoln Labour MP Karen Lee calling it “unacceptable”.