The Conservative Dover and Deal parliamentary candidate is facing calls to be suspended by Labour after he posted an image the party called “antisemitic”.
In a now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) post, Stephen James posted a cartoon depicting men with hooked noses at the White Cliffs of Dover carrying bags of “false hopes".
He went on to claim he was “the only true local candidate” and criticised so-called "carpetbaggers" – political candidates who seek election in an area where they have no local connections.
Posting on Sunday evening, the 40-year-old said: “I’m the only true local candidate for #Dover, #Deal & The Villages. Unlike the carpetbaggers, I live, work, and raise my family in East Kent.”
Mr James has since told the Mirror he "apologises wholeheartedly for any offence caused by this image" and has deleted it from social media.
He placed blame on the image being "created by AI which usually has safeguards to stop harmful images being created, but on this instance fell short".
Speaking on a visit to Kent, Labour's shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry urged Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives to suspend Mr James from the election, saying: "Anyone who posts material like that isn't fit to be an MP."
Ms Thornberry added it showed an "appalling lack of judgement".
A Labour spokesperson said that "sharing antisemitic material is unacceptable".
The spokesperson added: "Rishi Sunak should condemn Mr James’s actions, and immediately suspend him as a candidate. "
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The party has spoken to this individual and reminded them of the party’s code of conduct and standards expected of candidates including on social media."
