Rishi Sunak urged to deselect former PM Liz Truss over interview with 'far right' platform

Rishi Sunak has been urged to deselect former prime minister Liz Truss as a candidate in the forthcoming General Election after she gave an interview to a "far right" online platform.

The Conservative parliamentary candidate for South-West Norfolk recorded an interview with Lotus Eaters before July's vote was announced, which is due to be streamed online on Wednesday.

Jess Phillips, the former shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said the founder of the platform, Carl Benjamin, once joked about raping her and highlighted what she said were his "despicable views about violence against women".

In an open letter to the prime minister she called Lotus Eaters a "hateful platform" and said anyone who appears on it "is not suitable to be a candidate for any political party".

“If you have any decency, you will deselect Liz Truss as Conservative candidate for South West Norfolk," she added.

"Anything less than this will show how weak you are and how far the Conservative Party has sunk.”

The Lotus Eaters website says Ms Truss is appearing on its Tomlinson Talks show to discuss her book, Ten Years To Save The West.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, founder Mr Benjamin said he had been "attacked and misrepresented" by Ms Phillips who had "built up an absurd boogeyman of me in her head".

He said he had a long-standing record of activism promoting awareness of violence against women and said the Birmingham Yardley parliamentary candidate had used "a joke to attempt to prove her point".

In her letter to Mr Sunak, Ms Phillips recalls an interaction with Mr Benjamin in 2017.

“Benjamin has despicable views about violence against women," she said. "When I highlighted the volume of rape threats received by female MPs, including myself, Benjamin responded, ‘I wouldn’t even rape you’, later adding ‘There’s been an awful lot of talk about whether I would or wouldn’t rape Jess Phillips. I suppose with enough pressure I might cave, but let’s be honest nobody’s got that much beer.’

“The impact men like Benjamin have on politics cannot be understated. Men like Benjamin make female MPs live in fear, while discouraging women from standing in future, weakening our democracy in the process."

Her call for Ms Truss to be deselected has been echoed by campaign group Hope Not Hate.

Campaigns director Georgie Laming said: “It is completely irresponsible for any MP or candidate to share a platform with Lotus Eaters and their band of conspiracy theorists and far-right activists.

“This isn’t the first time Liz Truss has flirted with the far-right; she must be immediately suspended from the Conservative Party.”

Labour has previously called for Ms Truss to have the Tory whip removed after her attendance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the US earlier this year.

The former Tory leader later took part in an interview with Steve Bannon, who served as a senior White House aide to former Republican president Donald Trump, and she remained silent as he hailed English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson as a “hero”.

Ms Truss has been contacted for comment.

Rishi Sunak told reporters he had never heard of Lotus Eaters when asked about his predecessor’s appearance on the platform.

Speaking on a visit to Supacat, a defence company in Devon, he said: “I literally have never heard of this platform or indeed what has happened today, because I have actually spent most of my day doing what you have seen me doing, which is talking to people across Cornwall and Devon about what they are focused on.”

Tory chairman Richard Holden told LBC he would raise Ms Truss’s appearance on the show with her. He said had never heard of Mr Benjamin and had not known Ms Truss would appear on his show.

Of the comments about Ms Phillips, he said: “I think these comments are unbelievably vile and totally appalling. I’m sure that Liz Truss, the former prime minister, would agree.

“Why she’s appeared, I don’t know.”

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