'Swastika' hot cross bun Tory councillor Lee Mason reinstated to Conservative Party

Former Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Cllr Lee Mason was suspended in April, and last month the party confirmed its investigation was continuing.

But today the Portsmouth North Conservative Association said the complaint process had now concluded.

The association said the Cosham ward member had been handed a three-month ban from the party, but that had lapsed and his membership was now reinstated.

It appears the three-month ban was served during his suspension from the party.

Cllr Mason has been approached for comment by The News. He previously denied baking any bun with a swastika on it.

Councillor Robert New, chairman of Portsmouth North Conservatives, said: ‘In the Conservative Party we take all complaints seriously.

‘It is right that the full complaint process was considered by central office.

‘Cllr Mason is aware of the outcome and maintains he meant to cause no offence.’

A statement from the association added: ‘The Conservative Party has now concluded the complaint process and Cllr Lee Mason was subject to a three-month ban of his membership of the Conservative Party.

‘Cllr Mason’s ban has now lapsed and as such his membership of the Conservative Party has been re-instated.’

As reported, his suspension came after a photo from his Snapchat was leaked to The News. It shows five of the traditional Easter snacks cooling on a metal rack.

A swastika-style emblem – similar to one used by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whose party slaughtered millions of Jews during the Second World War – appeared to have been baked on one.

The news outraged a Jewish rights group, who demanded action from the Tories.

The Conservative Party is continuing to investigate Cllr Linda Symes’ sharing of ‘undeniably racist' social media posts.

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In an interview with The News in April, Cllr Mason insisted the image must have been altered online somehow.

However, he did admit all the other buns, including one with the word ‘sex’, another with an expletive and a third with what he described as a Scottish National Party logo, were his and had not been changed in any way.

But he said: ‘I have not baked a bun with a Nazi symbol. You can see from the picture that is not a Nazi symbol.

‘I baked some cakes, yes, but I haven’t done a Nazi symbol on any of them. And there’s no Nazi symbols there.’

He won support and backing from Nitzan Cohen, a committee member of the Portsmouth and Southsea Hebrew Congregation.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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