Disendorsed Liberal candidate Ben Britton claims party ‘witch hunt’

Dumped candidate Benjamin Britton blames a factional “witch hunt” within the NSW Liberals for his disendorsement as the candidate for Whitlam.

Days after being dumped as the Liberal candidate for the marginal seat of Whitlam, Benjamin Britton has broken his silence, accusing factions within his own party of orchestrating a “systematic plot” to derail Peter Dutton’s path to the prime ministership.

Mr Britton, an ADF veteran and cyber security consultant, will now run as an independent in the upcoming federal election after being disendorsed by the Coalition on Sunday over comments about women serving in the military that party officials said were “inconsistent with the party’s position”.

Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Tuesday, Mr Britton said he believed he had been targeted by internal forces.

“At the end of the day, what’s occurring within the NSW division right now is a systematic plot from the left,” he said.

“The left faction works hand in glove with members of the right faction who are traitors, to stab Peter Dutton in the back and ensure he doesn’t get elected as the Prime Minister.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pictured with dumped Liberal candidate for Whitlam, Benjamin Britton. Picture: Liberal Party

His disendorsement came after resurfaced podcast comments in which he argued women should not serve in frontline military roles.

“Their hips are being destroyed because they can’t cope with the carrying of the heavy loads,” he said on the December recording.

The Coalition has removed a Liberal candidate for the NSW seat of Whitlam Benjamin Britton

“Why would you want to send your beautiful women … the ones that are the backbone of your society … on the altar [of war]?”

Mr Britton also blamed “diversity and equity quotas, Marxist ideology and woke ideologies” for weakening Australia’s defence capability.

Senior Liberals had long held concerns about Benjamin Britton’s potential to go off-script and be disendorsed, according to internal meeting minutes from February.

Those fears were realised after a Telegram account linked to Britton was found to have called Senator Andrew Bragg a “piece of globalist shit” while praising Vladimir Putin.

The messages, sent from Britton’s number, align with his past political activity.

The NSW Liberals said his views were not disclosed before preselection and do not reflect the party’s values. Britton has not responded to requests for comment.

Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]

Originally published as Disendorsed Liberal candidate Ben Britton claims party ‘witch hunt’