Tory councillor suspended for allegedly baking hot cross bun with a swastika on
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Tory councillor suspended for allegedly baking hot cross bun with a swastika on

Former lord mayor and Portsmouth City Council official, Lee Mason, denies putting a Nazi symbol on the buns after images emerged on social media

Portsmouth City Council (Google maps: Screenshots)
Portsmouth City Council (Google maps: Screenshots)

A former lord mayor has been suspended from his Conservative Party association for allegedly baking a hot cross bun with a swastika on it.

The action was taken against Lee Mason, a councillor on Portsmouth City Council, after a photo emerged of the buns which also featured the word “sex” and an expletive.

The Cosham ward councillor told the Portsmouth News that he admitted making the buns adorned with the words and another with a Scottish National Party logo.

But he said he had not created one with a swastika symbol and suggested the photograph had been digitally manipulated.

He told the newspaper: “I have not baked a bun with a Nazi symbol. You can see from the picture that is not a Nazi symbol.

“I baked some cakes, yes, but I haven’t done a Nazi symbol on any of them. And there’s no Nazi symbols there.”

Supporters of the councillor have suggested the symbol was actually the original Hindu symbol that was then changed before being adopted by the Nazi party.

A spokeswoman on behalf of Portsmouth North Conservative Association said: “Cllr Lee Mason has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.”

Mr Mason has been approached for comment.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: