The Green Party has confirmed a newly-elected London councillor will sit as an independent following her recent arrest over alleged antisemitic posts on social media.
Saiqa Ali was suspended by the party in April after a series of social media posts were reported by The Spectator, including one post in which she allegedly wrote that Donald Trump “is owned by Jews”.
Another showed a snake with the Israeli flag printed on its skin as it wraps itself around the world. Ms Ali allegedly captioned the post: “It’s time to cut the head of this snake. #FreePalestine.”
Despite Ali’s suspension just days before the election, the Green Party stated that electoral law meant her name had to remain on the ballot paper.
On Thursday, Ali was elected to St Leonard’s ward in Lambeth Council under a Green Party ticket as they swept to victory in the borough.
Today, a Green Party spokesman confirmed Ali will sit on the council as an independent following her suspension.
Ms Ali and another Green Party candidate in the borough who was not elected, were arrested by Met Police officers on the morning of Thursday, April 30, just a week before the public took to the polls.
The pair were detained under Section 19 of the Public Order Act and brought into custody for questioning following allegations of antisemitic posts.
One of Ms Ali’s posts was said to show an armed man under the slogan “resistance is freedom”, while wearing the headband of proscribed terror group Hamas.
Among several deleted Facebook posts, she is alleged to have described the government as overrepresented by “Zionist Jews” while another post purportedly dismissed September 11 as a “false flag attack”.
An AI-generated post allegedly depicted a Jewish caricature under the caption: “Don’t you know the rules? We went through the Holocaust, and now we get to kill everyone, forever!”
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Ms Ali has apologised for any offence or distress caused by her online posts. In her apology she stated she “unequivocally rejects anti-Semitism in all its forms”.
She added: “My comments were rooted in concern for the humanitarian situation in the Middle East, and I remain committed to speaking with care, responsibility and respect for everyone.”
Following Ms Ali’s arrest, Lambeth Green Party stated: “Lambeth Green Party opposes all forms of racism as one of our core principles, including antisemitism and any threat to the Jewish community.
“Green Party candidate Saiqa Ali has been the subject of an article in the media, which cited historic social media posts. The quoted social media posts do not reflect the Green Party’s values and we condemn them fully. Saiqa Ali has been suspended pending investigation.
“Electoral law requirements mean she will still appear as a candidate on the ballot paper.”
Ms Ali has been approached for comment.
She is not the only candidate to be suspended by her party over alleged antisemitic remarks to have been elected on Thursday. A candidate who apologised over his posts was elected to Tower Hamlets council.