Tim Farron has sacked Lib Dem candidate David Ward over allegations of antisemitism after the party leader came under pressure at Prime Minister's Questions.
Ward, who had been selected to represent the party in Bradford East, caused outrage in 2013 by blaming 'the Jews' for atrocities against Palestinians. He also called Israel an 'apartheid state' and said 'Zionists' were 'losing the battle'.
Farron, an evangelical Christian, labelled the remarks 'deeply offensive, wrong and antisemitic' but until Wednesday afternoon had maintained party selection was not up to him.
The change in tack came after the Lib Dems were attacked on the issue by Theresa May and former communities secretary Eric Pickles in the final PMQs before the election.
In a statement later on Wednesday afternoon, Farron said: 'I believe in a politics that is open, tolerant and united.
'David Ward is unfit to represent the party and I have sacked him.'
It came after Pickles asked whether the Prime Minister 'shares my disgust that a former member of this house criticised by the home affairs select committee for antisemitism has been selected for Bradford East for the Liberal Democrats?'
May responded by saying people would be 'disappointed to see the Liberal Democrats readopt a candidate with a questionable record on antisemitism'.
It is the latest antisemitism scandal to have rocked the Lib Dems after their Luton South candidate, Ashuk Ahmed, was suspended on Tuesday over Facebook posts comparing Zionism to Nazis.
Joe Glasman from the Campaign Against Antisemitism attacked Farron for his failure to act sooner.
'Mr Farron deserves no credit for allowing the selection of such unsuitable candidates, then claiming to be powerless to intervene, then sacking them,' he said.
'They should never have been selected at all. We are thankful to others in the Party who have followed our lead in voicing opposition to these candidates and we are pleased that they no longer represent the Party.
'It is a great shame that Tim Farron only seems to act on antisemitism when enough people are watching.'
In a campaign rally in St Albans on Wednesday, speaking before the decision to suspend him Farron said: 'I am fully aware of the comments David Ward has made in the past and I find them deeply offensive, wrong and antisemitic.'
He went on: 'I think his decision to stand again, and the local party's decision to select him, is wrong and I disagree with it completely.
'I don't select our individual candidates and nor should I. But let me be clear, I won't tolerate antisemitism in my party. David Ward has been disciplined in the past and if he or anyone else makes antisemitic remarks in this campaign I will expect the party to act quickly and decisively, as we did when we suspended a candidate in Luton South yesterday.'
