Lord Pickles has condemned his fellow Conservative Daniel Kawczynski for attending a conference alongside figures from Europe's far right, in a dramatic intervention as pressure grows on the party to act.
Lord Pickles, who is the government's envoy on post-Holocaust issues, said the Shrewsbury MP had "let his fellow Conservatives down" by appearing alongside figures such as a niece of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the hard-right Fratelli d'Italia party.
Mr Kawczynski's decision to speak has prompted anger and calls from the Jewish Labour Movement for the Tories to suspend him, saying the conference was "full of racists, homophobes and Islamophobes".
Lord Pickles, who is also a former chair of the Conservative Party, tweeted on Thursday: "Had Daniel attended the conference to confront racists and extremism, he might be justified in attending.
"Unfortunately, his presence has only brought them comfort. He has let fellow Conservatives down."
Had Daniel attended the conference to confront racists and extremism he might be justified in attending. Unfortunately, his presence has only brought them comfort. He has let fellow @Conservatives down https://t.co/a0uaQi2Z1t
— Lord (Eric) Pickles (@EricPickles) February 6, 2020
It comes after the JC reported a senior Cabinet minister was "hopeful" their party would act against Mr Kawzynski and a JC leader said: "If Boris Johnson is sincere in his opposition to racism, he will discipline Mr Kawczynski. If he does not, he is not."
"By consorting with racists, in full knowledge of their presence, he sends a clear message that he believes their ideas are legitimate and respectable," the JC leader said.
Before he went to the conference, which took place on Monday and Tuesday in Rome, Mr Kawczynski accused his critics of being "hysterical".
He added he would attend to “share an Anglo-Polish perspective on Brexit and what it signifies for the future of Europe.
“But more than anything, I will seek to echo the wisdom of the late Sir Roger Scruton, who warned us not to accept the EU’s propaganda version of events that the fall of the Berlin Wall was only about ‘freedom of movement’.
"This is not true. The revolutions of 1989 were about the restoration of national sovereignty to people who had been absorbed and oppressed by a lawless empire.
"The fact that they are now absorbed by a lawful one does not alter the case."
