The would-be councillor, who is the party's candidate for a by-election in Redcar and Cleveland on 19 January, said:
"Regarding the mosque being built near ground zero. I say let them build it. But then, across the street we should put a topless bar called 'You Mecca Me Hot' … and next to that a pork rib restaurant … Then we'll see who's tolerant."
A number of posts on his Facebook page were seemingly calculated to deliberately offend Muslims – including spreading outright smears. Stones claimed that the Royal British Legion were "not selling poppies in certain areas of the UK", implying that objections from Muslims were behind the decision:

When contacted by Scrapbook, however, a spokesperson for The Royal British Legion said his claims about the poppies were "categorically not true".
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