A TORY MP has faced criticism for touting a right-wing conspiracy theory in the House of Commons and online.
Nick Fletcher, MP for Don Valley, shared an image relating to 15-minute cities which claimed that the plans would “tax, restrict and monitor your basic freedom to move around”.
It came after Fletcher called for a debate on the principle, which would make it easier to walk from home to shops, schools and other local amenities, where he described them as an “international socialist concept” that will “cost our personal freedom”.
Following his statement in the Commons on Thursday, Fletcher shared a thread on Twitter with the clip of him speaking in parliament, followed by a number of tweets, but social media users were quick to spot the graphic taken from the far-right website Europe Reloaded.
The article in question relates to a bid for 15-minute cities in Oxford, describing them as “climate lockdowns” and a “Communist-style dystopian city”.
Other articles on the website’s homepage describe Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy as a “war criminal”, a “shock” forecast on immigration in Germany, and a claim that the US Centers for Disease Control said Covid vaccines “knock up to 24 years off a man’s life”.
…and therefore calls on him and his successor to act on this and work with the @SheffCouncil to make 15-minute neighbourhoods a reality across our area”. 🧵5/7 #Doncasterisgreat #stronglocaleconomy pic.twitter.com/NtKGYPt6n0
— Nick Fletcher MP (@NickFletcherMP) February 9, 2023
Sharing the graphic in a thread, Fletcher said: "It is minuted that the @SheffCouncil resolved: '... notes Metro Mayor Dan Jarvis’s calls to ‘transform our infrastructure for cycling and walking, and put in place the building blocks for compact and liveable 15-minute neighbourhoods’.
In a second tweet he continued: “…and therefore calls on him and his successor to act on this and work with the @SheffCouncil to make 15-minute neighbourhoods a reality across our area."
The tweet posted on Thursday afternoon, has been viewed 47,000 times at time of writing.
Social media users were quick to spot the ER watermark in the right-hand corner of the graphic and criticised Fletcher for sharing it on his social media.
Adam Bienkov, editor of Byline Times, wrote: “Conservative MP Nick Fletcher here, sharing a graphic put out by the far-right, anti-semitic, conspiracy website 'Europe Reloaded'.”
One user wrote: “So what’s your response to where you got this image from? It’s on a far-right [website] and you’ve brought it into parliament to win an argument. Absolutely scandalous!”
Another added: “Not the Tory MP for Don Valley sharing pictures and theories from a fringe right-wing conspiracy website.”
While one said: “This image is taken from Europe Reloaded, a crank conspiracy site full of completely deranged theories about vaccines, the WEF, the Rothschilds, & plenty of pro-Putin propaganda. Absolutely astounding a Conservative MP would be taken in by this insanity.”
Following Fletcher’s request for a debate on the issue, Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt did not immediately dismiss his suggestions, adding it was “right that people raise concerns about this particular kind of policy".
She said: “I think that the hardworking people of this country, their lives are complicated enough.
“We would want to see that where such policies were being forwarded that local communities were being properly consulted.”
Fletcher’s office has been contacted for comment.
