Restore Britain’s candidate to be mayor of Greater Manchester has been suspended by his professional body, apparently over social media comments he made about sexual grooming by Pakistani men.
Marlon West, who works as a mental health nurse, was given an 18-month suspension by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on Friday.
West – who co-wrote a book with his daughter, Scarlett, about rape and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Asian men – said he stood by what he said, and has seemingly won the backing of US tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The NMC said it expected professionals to “treat people of all races and nationalities with dignity and respect”.
The timing of West’s suspension has been called into question by Restore’s leader, Rupert Lowe.
He said: “In a discussion on a private Facebook group, Marlon referred to the injuries his daughter received at the hands of one of these [grooming] gangs.
“His ‘offending’ language was: ‘This is what Pakistanis do! After being raped and tortured! My daughter you sicko’.'”
West became a prominent activist about grooming gangs after Scarlett was raped, and co-wrote the book In Plain Sight with her.
He has worked in the NHS since 1994 and has been registered with the NMC since 1998.