Douglas Carswell – the former UKIP MP for Clacton, and a sometime ally of Nigel Farage – doubled down on his tweet, calling for England to be made “Abdul-free”
A former MP and ally of Nigel Farage refused to apologise for a ‘racist’ tweet calling for England to be made “Abdul-free” at a hard-right wing conference in America.
Ex-Clacton MP Douglas Carswell was at the National Conservatism conference in Washington DC, where Farage was a no-show today.
“Transport issues” meant Farage missed his speaking slot at the conference – where he was supposed to be lecturing the crowd on “getting mass-deportations done”.
Carswell, who was not scheduled to speak, was seen milling around in the conference hotel, so the Mirror confronted him about his social media post.
“From Epping to the sea, let’s make England Abdul-free,” Carswell posted on X on Sunday.
Asked if he could explain the tweet, Carswell refused, saying: “No…not really. I tweet lots of things. The last thing I’m going to be is accountable to newspapers for what I say as a freeborn Englishman, living in America, making full use of the first amendment.
“I don’t apologise or explain, thankyou for your time.”
Asked whether he would agree with the many people who responded to the tweet, saying it was racist, he added: “I’m really not going to comment on my tweets. If you like my tweets follow me, if you don’t don’t.”
Shortly after the interview, Mr Carswell blocked this reporter on X.
Asked earlier in the interview why he was at the conference, Carswell, who now runs a think tank in Mississippi, said: “I think it’s really important that the current or former Member of Parliament for Clacton comes here, because it’s a great event.
“To be honest I’m not really a signed up member of the NatCon movement, but I’m curious, he said.
“It seems to me that there’s an energy here and there are people here talking about things that perhaps some of those more traditional conservative conferences aren’t taking about and aren’t discussing.”
Asked whether he was looking forward to seeing Farage, with whom he has had a famously tempestuous relationship, Carswell said the pair are on “good texting terms”.