The Board of Deputies has called on Katie Hopkins to apologise after she was photographed with a former Holocaust denier.
Hopkins, who recently addressed Church and Media Network Conference, and is a columnist with Mail Online, was pictured in a photo together with Peter Sweden, who has posted a number of contentious tweets in the past, including one stating that 'The claim that 6 million jews were gassed seem highly unprobable. The concentration camps didn't have the facilities for that'. However, Sweden has subsequently changed his mind and no longer holds these views.
Ms Hopkins tweeted a photo of herself and Sweden but then deleted it, and tweeted another with a different photograph.
Hopkins, who was recently fired by LBC radio in London after she called for a 'final solution' in response to the Manchester terror bombing, has been in Sicily investigating unproven allegations that charities helping migrants and others in danger in the current refugee crisis are actually working with people traffickers.
Marie Van der Zyl, Vice President of the Board of Deputies, told the Jewish Chronicle that it was 'distressing' to see Katie Hopkins posing for a photo with Sweden, as part of her trip to support the 'Defend Europe' campaign.
'This follows Ms Hopkin's previous call for a "final solution". Ms Hopkins should apologise,' she added.
Dr Edie Friedman, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, also told the JC: 'Freedom of speech is precious. Using this freedom to preach hate and division should be consigned to the dustbin of history.'
Sweden has himself issued a statement stating that he no longer holds his former views on the Holocaust:
This article has been corrected to reflect the fact that Peter Sweden is no longer a Holocaust denier, and that he strongly abhors such views. Sweden has asked Christian Today to point out that these views were from over a year ago and that a year is a long time when a person is only 22 years old.
