General Election 2019: Tory candidate Simon Hart accused of vandalising his own placard with swastikas to gain sympathy vote Simon Hart is facing calls to explain the alleged discrepancy

A Conservative candidate has been accused of defacing his own placard with swastikas to gain sympathy.

Simon Hart, incumbent MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, posted a photograph of his campaign card defaced with two swastikas, and the message in block capitals: “Will starve your nan and steal her house!”

But the same defaced placard was pictured in a WalesOnline article two years earlier, from the 2017 election campaign, without the swastikas.

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The revelation has sparked controversy, with some demanding that Mr Hart explain how the symbols have come about.

Questions raised

Leading the calls for answers, Christina Rees, shadow secretary of state for Wales, to brand the affair “as sinister as it is baffling”.

“It raises a multitude of questions for the Tory high command and for the relevant authorities,” she said.

“But I have one simple question for Simon Hart, one that requires answering immediately – did you deface your own signs with swastikas for personal electoral gain?

“If not, explain how they came to be there. Because right now there appears to be no other rational explanation.”

Vows for healthy politics

In the post on 3 November, Mr Hart wrote of the “debilitating impact” of “online abuse”, mentioned the murder of Jo Cox and said: “I am determined that the tone and nature of this election should be a big improvement on 2017.”

The Tory candidate, who has been South Pembrokeshire MP since 2010, has “refused to make any public statement” and called questions over the placard “totally outrageous”, The Pembrokeshire Herald reports.

i has contacted Mr Hart’s office for comment.