Tory Branch Chairman Suspended Over Nazi Fancy Dress Photo From 1980s

Colin Davis was a member of the Spelthorne Borough Council in Staines, Surrey from 2007 to 2019. He was also reportedly going to stand in Enfield in the local elections in May this year, but his picture had been removed from the association's website.

The head of a North London Tory Party branch and former councillor has been suspended after a four-decade-old photo of him in a Nazi fancy dress surfaced.

The MailOnline reported that Colin Davis, a lawyer specialising in military law, resigned as chairman of the Enfield Southgate Conservative Association after the Jewish News published the photo of him standing in a back garden wearing the SS uniform, some time in the 1980s.

"I have no recollection of this at all," Davis claimed, but confessed: "Yes, there were various wild parties, very perverse themes expressed… I can't absolutely rule it out."

"I recall attending a fair number of parties where bizarre garb of all kinds was called upon," he told the Jewish News, adding that he may have been a serving member of the Army Reserve at the time the photo was taken. "There used to be an awful lot of wild parties in the 1980s. I certainly can’t recall all of them."

Counclillor Joanne Laban, leader of the opposition Tory group on Enfield council, said Davis had been "suspended from the party by Enfield Southgate Conservative Association pending investigation."

"The Conservative Party takes allegations of this nature extremely seriously and the swift action taken reflects this," Laban said, stressing: "We are proud to have members of the Jewish Community standing in the local elections. I look forward to both Julian Sampson and Ruby Sampson joining the Conservative team on Enfield Council."

Davis was a member of the Spelthorne Borough Council in Staines, Surrey from 2007 to 2019. He was also reportedly going to stand in Enfield in the local elections in May this year, but his picture had been removed from the association's website.

Prior to the Nazi uniform photo's appearance, the site said he was "busy running popular campaigns of national relevance and starting to campaign for the May 2022 local elections."

He had also been listed on the website of Carter's Solicitors, a firm that specialised in military law, but stepped down 11 months ago.

Carters said in a statement that Davis had "never been employed by us" but had only "acted as a consultant for a brief period."

"We are shocked and surprised by the content of the article and disassociate ourselves in relation to Mr Davis and this deplorable conduct," the legal firm said.