Kemi Badenoch keeps far-right convict as adviser despite Barnet Labour call

Barnet Labour has demanded Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch drop Joshua Bonehill-Paine as an adviser after she defended his selection as a council candidate in Somerset. Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings wrote to opposition leader Peter Zinkin on 6 August 2026, calling on him to publicly urge Badenoch to remove Bonehill-Paine from the role.

Bonehill-Paine was jailed in December 2015 for three years and four months for inciting racial hatred against Jews. The Jewish Chronicle reported his offences included plans to burn the Talmud and destroy Israeli flags at a rally in Golders Green, promoted with Holocaust-mocking imagery. In 2016, he received an additional two-year sentence for a campaign of online antisemitic abuse against then-Labour MP Luciana Berger, whom he called a "money-grabber" and "evil".

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Barnet Tories refuse to condemn appointment

Zinkin, who represents Golders Green, responded to Rawlings’ letter on 7 August 2026. He acknowledged the concerns of the Jewish community but declined to condemn Badenoch’s decision. Zinkin said there were "genuine differences of opinion" on whether individuals who demonstrate remorse should be allowed opportunities for rehabilitation. He added that as a councillor for a ward with a significant Jewish population, he did not take the matter lightly.

Zinkin contrasted Badenoch’s record with that of the Labour Party, stating she had "consistently been a friend of the Jewish community" in Barnet. He noted her support for Golders Green during difficult times and her opposition to antisemitism. Rawlings, in his letter, had described the appointment as a failure to take a stand against extremism, urging Zinkin to remonstrate with Badenoch over her expression of sadness that Bonehill-Paine was no longer a candidate.

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The decision to welcome this individual as an adviser to the Leader of the Opposition is no better than allowing him to stand as a council candidate. It is a privileged and influential national role. As a victim of this man’s heinous crimes this appointment is an insult.

Luciana Berger, Labour peer

What happens next

Barnet Council’s next full meeting is scheduled for 18 September 2026. Residents can submit questions or statements to the council in advance. The matter may be raised during the public participation section, though it is unclear whether it will be formally debated. The council has not indicated whether it will take further action beyond Rawlings’ letter.