Katie Hopkins has had her Twitter account permanently banned for “hateful conduct”, the social media giant has confirmed.
The former reality TV star-turned-far right commentator has a long history of pro-Trump, pro-Brexit and anti-immigration views, and had more than one million followers on the platform.
A Twitter spokesperson said: “Keeping Twitter safe is a top priority for us – abuse and hateful conduct have no place on our service and we will continue to take action when our rules are broken.
“In this case, the account has been permanently suspended for violations of our hateful conduct policy.”
Twitter did not respond directly when asked what led to the decision. Hopkins’ account has previously been temporarily suspended but later reinstated.
Hopkins has been heavily criticised in the past for her comments, including comparing migrants to cockroaches and claiming the photograph of a dead Syrian boy lying on a beach that sparked a wave of compassion across Europe was staged, as well as stating that dementia sufferers should not block hospital beds.
Most recently, Hopkins stoked anger by mocking the Black Lives Matter protests.
On Wednesday, Hopkins tweeted: “Today is #whiteoutwednesday. I will shortly be posting a picture of my arse. Thank you.”
She also faced a backlash for her criticism of footballer Marcus Rashford following his successful campaign to continue free school meals.
She tweeted: “Dear Marcus Rashford, do you think women should think about how they are going to feed a child before they decide to have it?
“I do not want to pay to feed other people’s kids. You are welcome to. Thank you, Katie Hopkins.”
In response, Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt told her: “He’s done more for this country in 24 hours than you have your entire life. Bow before a king.”
Her suspension comes after a petition calling for her to be removed from the platform passed 70,000 signatures. She has been re-tweeted many times by Donald Trump.
According to Twitter’s website, that policy prohibits promoting violence against or directly attacking or threatening people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, age, disability or serious disease.
