A Labour councillor has been suspended for social media posts that called Pride marchers “paedophiles” and threatened to unleash the “burning anger” of God on her critics.
Chika Amadi, a charity worker and evangelical pastor who sits on Harrow council, was criticised after sharing a post from anti-LGBT Christian website LifeSiteNews.com. The 2014 article showed a picture from a Toronto Pride march with a young girl appearing to cover her eyes as a naked man walked past.
“Walking about naked in front of children is nothing but paedophelia being labelled liberalism,” she tweeted. Another tweet said: “Try me try my God. Walk naked in front of my child, you will know whether you are normal or not.”
On her Facebook page last month, Amadi also posted: “Recently one respectable man in my constituency questioned me on my faith especially on homosexuality (…) I warned him not to try me next time.
“Anyone who wants to bring me down from my political career because of my faith and stand on the word of God will encounter the burning anger of the God that I serve.”
In a comment underneath Amadi’s post, one Facebook user wrote: “Vultures will eat their flesh”, to which Amadi replied: “Amen. Thank you for standing with me and others in that circumstance.”
In another Facebook post, the councillor shared a quote from the president of the Gambia in which he threatened gay men and women with prison.
“Homosexuality is anti-humanity,” the quote reads. “I have never seen a homosexual chicken, or turkey. If you are convicted of homosexuality in this country, there will be no mercy for offenders. We will put you in the female wing of the prison.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Chika Amadi has been suspended from the Labour party pending an investigation.”
Ian Dylan Thomas and Sarah Kerton, the co-chairs of LGBT Labour, also issued a separate statement calling the comments “offensive, distasteful and homophobic”.
They called for Harrow council’s Labour group to suspend Amadi and for her to be reported to the party’s standards committee.
“These comments have no place in modern society and are unacceptable from a Labour party councillor,” the statement said.
The comments were also condemned by Conservative MP Margot James. “These homophobic comments by a sitting Labour councillor are completely unacceptable and wrong,” she said.
“I urge the Harrow Labour party to withdraw the whip immediately from Councillor Amadi to reflect the seriousness of these statements on her social media.”