Kemi Badenoch’s claim that a Tory adviser and former antisemite was certified by the Government to give counter-extremism training has been contradicted by the Home Office.
Joshua Bonehill-Paine has been given a role working with the Conservatives on tackling radicalisation after withdrawing as a local election candidate for the party over a backlash against his selection.
Tory leader Mrs Badenoch has defended him by insisting he has been rehabilitated since his convictions for harassing a Jewish politician and producing an advert for a neo-Nazi rally.
Earlier this week, she told reporters Mr Bonehill-Paine had since “been certified by the Home Office to train police officers on antisemitism and on countering extremism”.
But in a statement, the department said: “The Home Office does not certify individuals to deliver training.
“We do provide funding to civil society organisations, who may use individuals to deliver training on preventing extremism that is commissioned by local authorities.”
Mr Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2016 of racially aggravated harassment against Labour peer Baroness Luciana Berger, who is Jewish and was then MP for Liverpool Wavertree.
He wrote several blog posts about her, describing her as “an evil money-grabber” with a “deep-rooted hatred of men”.
In one post, he claimed the number of Jewish Labour MPs was a “problem”.
He was previously jailed for producing an advert illustrated with a picture of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz which promised “an absolute gas” at a rally in Golders Green, north London.
Earlier this week, Mr Bonehill-Paine said he had “no excuses” for his previous offending, and added he has since dedicated himself to “challenging the wave of hatred British Jews continue to face”.
But the Tories faced a backlash from Jewish groups and political opponents over the decision to select him to fight the new Somerset Council seat of Crewkerne South next year, with critics arguing his past convictions make him unfit for a role in public life.
After withdrawing his candidacy, Mr Bonehill-Paine said he had been offered a position as an adviser to the Conservatives’ culture and integration commission “specifically focusing on how young men become radicalised”.
Lady Berger said the new decision was an “insult”, while Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the Tories had questions to answer over any activities he undertakes on behalf of the party.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mrs Badenoch had shown an “outrageous lack of judgment, doubling down on her support for a former neo-Nazi”.
A Reform UK spokesman said Mr Bonehill-Paine’s appointment “beggars belief”.
But Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said it was a positive move.
Mr Rosenberg, who previously declined an offer from the Conservatives to meet the would-be councillor, said the role would be more appropriate than him standing as a local politician.
On Wednesday, Mrs Badenoch said she was “sad” Mr Bonehill-Paine “won’t be given the space to explain his position and represent his community”.
She said: “If we are going to stop extremism and antisemitism we are going to need help from those people who were part of the problem, but have now changed and are being part of the solution.
“Piling on them and trying to get them cancelled may be sport for other parties, but this is a different Conservative Party.”
