Two Conservative councilors in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, have been suspended from the party for circulating by email a racist joke about immigrants from India and elsewhere, sparking criticism of the party two days before the May 6 poll.
Simon Farnsworth, a Ribble Valley councilor, sent the joke on to Ken Hind, his fellow councilor and a former Conservative parliamentary candidate. Hind then sent it to a long list of Conservative members.
When The Guardian daily drew the Conservative party's attention to the email, the two men were suspended.
Immigration has been a major issue in the elections, reflecting public concern over the numbers of immigrants entering the country in recent years, and the benefits they receive.
The joke runs as follows: A Somalian arrives in the UK as a new immigrant.
He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says, "Thank you Mr UK man for letting me into this country, giving me housing, money for food, free medical care, free education and no taxes!" The passerby says, "You are mistaken, I am an Afghani!"
The man goes on and encounters another passer by. "Thank you for having such a beautiful country here in the UK!" The person says, "I not from the UK, I am Iraqi!"
The new arrival walks further, and the next person he sees he stops, shakes his hand and says, 'Thank you for the wonderful UK!' That person puts up his hand and says, "I am from Pakistan, I am not from the UK!"
He finally sees a nice lady and asks, "Are you British?" She says, "No, I am from India!" Puzzled, he asks her, "Where are all the British?" The Indian lady checks her watch and says: "Probably all at work."
The email ended with another joke: "If you don't pass this on to all your friends you will receive three illegal immigrants absolutely free."
A Tory spokesman said, "Simon Farnsworth and Ken Hind have been suspended from the party. The contents of this email have no place in the Conservative party."
Hind apologised to "people from all the nations mentioned in the joke. It was not my intention to insult their racial origins, and I deeply regret passing on this item as I recognise now that it could cause offence."
"In my daily life, I deal with many people of different racial origins in our diverse community and get on well with them. I deprecate those who are racists. On many occasions, I have been outspoken in my condemnation of those who incite racial hatred and am committed to developing an integrated tolerant community in which all races, creeds and religions live side by side in peace," he said.
"I am privileged to name amongst my friends and associates many who are of Asian or African origin. I wish to emphasise that any apparent insult or criticism contained in The joke does not reflect my views or those of the Conservative party," he said.
