Decision to restore Tory whip to Bob Stewart branded ‘shameful’

A man who was told to “go back to Bahrain” by Bob Stewart has said it is “shameful” that the Conservatives have let him back into the party.

The MP for Beckenham in south-east London made the comments to Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, 37, in a row outside the Foreign Office’s Lancaster House in Westminster in 2023.

Then a Conservative MP, Mr Stewart resigned the whip after he was convicted last November for a racially aggravated public order offence in relation to the incident.

The conviction was overturned at Southwark Crown Court in February this year after it determined that although the comments were abusive, the upset they caused Mr Alwadaei did not amount to “harassment, alarm or distress”.

On Friday, it was announced that Mr Stewart would have the Tory whip restored.

Reacting to the decision, Mr Al-Wadaei, who fled Bahrain in 2012 after being tortured by the authorities, said: “It’s shameful to see the whip getting restored to him.

“It gives a clear message that the Conservative Party will reward abusive comments by their MPs.”

Mr Stewart, 74, had been attending an event hosted by the Bahraini embassy when protester Mr Alwadaei shouted: “Bob Stewart, for how much did you sell yourself to the Bahraini regime?”

During a heated exchange, Mr Stewart replied: “Go away, I hate you. You make a lot of fuss. Go back to Bahrain.”

He also told Mr Alwadaei to “get stuffed, Bahrain’s a great place, end of”.

In footage played during his appeal, he added: “Now you shut up, you stupid man.”

On April 13, Mr Alwadaei wrote to the chairman of the Conservative Party, Richard Holden, after they rejected his previous complaint alleging a breach of the party’s Code of Conduct.

In his letter, Mr Alwadaei urged Mr Holden to reconsider his dismissal of the complaint, arguing that the Conservatives’ Code of Conduct does not require a successful prosecution to prove a breach, and urged the party not to return the whip.

The code states that holders of public office must “not use their position to bully, abuse, victimise, harass or unlawfully discriminate against others”.

Reacting to news that the whip had been restored, Mr Alwadaei said: “The party should hold itself to a higher standard.

“It shows a complete disregard to the impact on the victim.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Colonel Bob Stewart had his conviction quashed on appeal, with the judge concluding that there was no evidence that any upset, alarm or distress was caused.

“The whip was restored accordingly.”

Mr Stewart will be standing down at the General Election.