A man standing as a South Hams District councillor for Ivybridge has been suspended by the South West Devon Conservative Association as a result of his far right-wing views.

Stanley Murphy had been criticised after his social media account suggested the holocaust would have been less likely if more Jews had guns. He also claimed if parents spent time with their children at rifle ranges it would be “quality family time and gun control all inone.”

Ivybridge West Conservative hopeful Stanley Murphy’s personal Facebook site additionally argued the the covid vaccination programme was anexperiment on the population and some equality programmes in schools are “communism.”

In a series of comments posted in 2021, Mr Murphy, who is standing for South Hams District Council, argues for controversial ideologiesassociated with US far-right groups, including limiting restrictions on firearms and his support for Donald Trump, who was sanctioned bysocial media giants following the 6 January 2001 Capitol riot.

Two Ivybridge residents, who do not wish to be named, say some local people  are concerned about Murphy’s Facebook profile.

One said: “It would appear from his personal Facebook postings [he holds] some worryingly extreme far-right American political views.”

They continued: “These posts appear to support the right to carry arms, concerns that the Chinese military are extracting DNA from pregnantwomen from around the world and that covid-19 is a bio-weapon manufactured by the Chinese.” 

In one post, Mr Murphy shows an image of Jews being forced onto trains during the notorious “Grossaktion” in 1942, when victims weredeported from the Warsaw Ghetto before being sent to the extermination camp in Treblinka. 

The image includes the words: “Why gun control?  Because armed people will NOT willingly load themselves into railroadboxcars.”

Another of Mr Murphy’s Facebook post shows a photograph of a man, woman and young boy, all pointing rifles and says: “This is quality familytime and gun control all in one. Re-post because the communist [sic] at Facebook are covering it up and deleting.” 

The Conservative candidate also reposted a YouTube video in which a British man in the United States aggressively criticises a schoolprogramme to improve the attainment of black students.

Mr Murphy adds: “This is how you deal with crazy leftist school boards or anyone who hates their own country in favour of communism andbehave in a dictatorial manner.”

The Facebook posts were dated between April and July 2021, at the height of the UK’s vaccination programme, but Mr Murphy reposts a memestating: “Stop saying you did your research before you got the injection – you are the research.”

Stanley Murphy’s Facebook comments appear to be at odds with the Conservative Party, which he is representing in the local elections. 

Mr Murphy and the Conservative Party have been approached but have not responded.