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Tory PCC candidate condemned after branding Extinction Rebellion protesters the 'smelly hard-left'

A police commissioner candidate has been accused of condoning violence after he appeared to praise commuters who dragged an Extinction Rebellion protester from the roof of a train.

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Extinction Rebellion protesters caused chaos by climbing on top of tube trains

Dozens of commuters were seen pulling at two campaigners who climbed to the top of a tube train at London's Canning Town station, before bystanders began booting one of the activists they had pulled to the floor.

Jay Singh Sohal, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate for the Conservatives, tweeted a clip of the incident alongside the comment: "Urban workers unite against the smelly hard left."

The now deleted comment has led to an angry response from Labour's PCC candidate and Extinction Rebellion supporter Simon Foster.

He accused Mr Singh Sohal of promoting violence and called for him to apologise and consider his candidacy.

Mr Singh Sohal has been criticised for this now deleted tweet

Mr Foster, who describes himself as a "life-long socialist", said Mr Singh Sohal's comment was "disgraceful" and criticised members of the public for "taking the law into their own hands".

"He is clearly not fit to run West Midlands Police," Mr Foster said.

“Whilst I appreciate the frustration that some members of the public might have felt on this occasion it was not appropriate for them to take the law into their own hands.

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"To do so risked further public disorder and/or injury both to themselves, other members of the public and the protesters.

“I support those that want to protest the climate emergency that we face provided they do so lawfully and peacefully.

“Since I assume Jay Singh Sohal has never met these particular protesters and taken the time to speak with them it would appear that, sadly, his views are informed only by simple ignorance and prejudice on his part.

“The views expressed in this tweet are not those that are becoming of a Conservative Party candidate to be the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

"I would invite Jay Singh Sohal to reflect, apologise and consider his position.”

Jay Singh Sohal has been criticised for his response to the Extinction Rebellion protests

Mr Singh Sohal is an Army Reserve captain who was recently honoured for his exceptional service commemorating Sikh contributions to the British Armed Forces. He has been contacted for a comment.

Five people have since been charged following the protests at three tube stations, which took place on Thursday.

Two men and two women have been charged with obstructing a train at Shadwell, while one man has been charged with breaching bail conditions over the Canning Town protest.

The protests have been strongly condemned by London's Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, who branded them "extremely dangerous" and counter productive".

West Midlands Mayor Conservative Andy Street also criticised the tube protests.

"I absolutely get the principal behind the Extinction Rebellion protests, but putting it bluntly, I think their judgement to interfere with tube travel is wrong, because one of the best ways that people can reduce their CO2 output is to go on public transport," he told the E&S.

"It seems slightly ironic that they chose to disrupt the lives of people who were trying to do the right thing."

Extinction Rebellion was also widely condemned for comparing the protesters with US civil rights activist Rosa Parks.

In a now-deleted tweet, the official Extinction Rebellion Twitter account wrote: "Rosa Parks refused to move from the white section of the bus and our rebels refused to bequeath a dying planet to future generations by failing to #ActNow."

Rosa Parks, a key figure in the civil rights movement, was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus.