Twitter urged to ban prominent right-wing blogger David Vance over string of racist remarks

Twitter has been urged to ban controversial right-wing blogger David Vance over a string of racist remarks, after his latest tweets to Marcus Rashford about the African-Caribbean community.

Vance is accused of trolling prominent black political activists with a flurry of offensive remarks, including Marcus Rashford, Labour MP David Lammy, and Remain campaigner Femi Oluwole.

In his tweets he often makes sweeping statements which are retweeted and shared by his 170,000 followers.

The social media networking website has been urged to act after he told footballing campaigner Rashford claiming that there is a 'disproportionate problem within the (UK) Afro-Caribbean [sic] community of black men abandoning their pregnant girlfriends', before asking if he had ever met his father.

It prompted Lammy to intervene, telling Vance: 'Absolutely despicable that this unabashed racism has a following in modern Britain. This is no way to speak to @MarcusRashford who has achieved far more at age 22 than you will in a lifetime'.

Vance responded: 'Child abandonment by fathers is a major concern. Didn't your father run off too?'

Questions have been raised why the social media network has not taken the same swift action it served music artist Wiley for anti-Semitic tweets over the summer, which resulted in intervention from the home secretary, and a ban from the network.

Users have flagged up screenshots of him using the n-word, branding India a 'sh*thole' which is the 'world centre of rape', and branding EU migrants 'car wash attendants'.

In April he was criticised for suggesting Areema Nasreen, a Muslim NHS nurse who died during the pandemic working on the frontline, had been abroad in Pakistan when she contracted the virus - despite having worked in a hospital shortly before she picked up the symptoms.

A tweet from David Vance. Photograph: Twitter. - Credit: Archant

He recently deleted more than 190,000 tweets from his account's history after his messages came under further scrutiny.

Mike Williams tweeted: 'David Vance is one of the purest, most consistent racist shitheads on Twitter. Every day his timeline's stuffed with xenophobic videos trying to demonise non-white people. It's revolting. How's he not already been permanently banned, @TwitterSupport?'

Sooz Kempner wrote: 'David Vance has been racist on Twitter unchecked for at least a decade. He blocked me for calling him on it in 2011. Why is his account still active?'

'Twitter and other platforms better move speedy with David Vance,' noted @GoWithTheFlo. 'Same energy they gave Wiley needs to be present'.

A tweet from David Vance. Photograph: Twitter. - Credit: Archant

Twitter responded to The New European's request for comment by saying it had deleted a number of tweets which contradicted its rules.

A spokesperson said: 'Abuse and harassment have no place on our service and we have policies in place - that apply to everyone, everywhere - that address abuse and harassment, violent threats, and hateful conduct. Where we identify violations of our rules, we take robust enforcement action.'

A tweet from David Vance. Photograph: Twitter. - Credit: Archant