Former British MP Douglas Carswell sparks outrage with call to 'make England Abdul free'

Carswell regularly writes for the Telegraph and has advocated for the mass deportation of Muslims from Britain

Douglas Carswell, former member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), adjusts his tie in central London on 20 April 2017 (AFP)

Douglas Carswell, former member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), in central London on 20 April 2017 (AFP)

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Former British MP and media commentator Douglas Carswell has sparked outrage by saying "let's make England Abdul free".

Carswell, who regularly writes for the Telegraph, was a Conservative MP from 2005 to 2014, and then an MP for anti-immigration party UKIP until 2017.

On Sunday, Carswell took to social media platform X to share his views on a Daily Mail story about locals in Epping vowing to stop paying council tax after the High Court ruled asylum seekers can stay in a hotel.

"From Epping to the sea, let’s make England Abdul free," Carswell declared in an apparent spin on the pro-Palestinian slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

The original slogan is often accused of implicitly advocating for violence against Jews, which pro-Palestine protesters strenuously deny.

In contrast, Carswell's version appears to explicitly call for the removal from Britain of everyone called Abdul.

From Epping to the sea, let’s make England Abdul free https://t.co/GtWXCDeJGj
— Douglas Carswell🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@DouglasCarswell) August 31, 2025

MEE asked the Telegraph whether it condemns Carswell's post, and whether it will continue to publish his columns, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Some British figures have accused Carswell of inciting racial hatred.

"It is a serious offence under the Public Order Act 1986 to incite racial hatred through threatening, abusive, or insulting words, behaviour, or material displayed or distributed publicly," remarked prominent solicitor Nazir Afzal.

"As a former MP he should know where the line is & what crosses it - this probably does," Afzal added.

Support for 'mass deportation'

Carswell hit back against Afzal's comment - not to deny inciting racial hatred but instead to note that he cannot be prosecuted because he now lives in the US.

"I live under the protection of a free Republic where free speech is protected and your courts have not held jurisdiction in 249 years, Mr Afzal," Carswell declared.

I live under the protection of a free Republic where free speech is protected and your courts have not held jurisdiction in 249 years, Mr Afzal. https://t.co/sfnjM6C1ai
— Douglas Carswell🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@DouglasCarswell) August 31, 2025

Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, a British non-profit, added that Afzal was "wrong".

"You cannot be prosecuted for stirring up hatred against Muslims under s18 or s19 of the Public Order Act 1986 because Muslims are not a racial group," Young said in a post shared by Carswell.

Outrage has nevertheless poured in over the former MP's original post, which he has doubled down on.

'Blatant racism'

Political strategist Paul Hilder asked Carswell whether he was "calling for the ethnic cleansing of all Muslims".

Carswell responded: "I fear that immigration is vastly out of control now and also I don't really care what the lanyard classes think anymore."

'The speed at which it's become acceptable to say things like this, with no repercussions, is absolutely astounding'

- Adnan Hussain MP

He then posted his support for the "mass deportation of Muslims from Britain".

Independent MP Adnan Hussain responded to Carswell's original post by commenting: "The speed at which it's become acceptable to say things like this, with no repercussions, is absolutely astounding."

LBC presenter Iain Dale, also responding to the post, said: "Shame on you for this blatant racism."

Carswell responded: "I don't care what you think, Iain".

Guardian columnist Kenan Malik said: "So, this is what they mean when they talk about the Overton window having shifted."

And Zeteo CEO Mehdi Hasan noted that Carswell "doesn’t even live in the UK anymore. He’s an immigrant here in the US.

"Oh, the hypocrisy."

For the record, this guy - a former UK MP - doesn’t even live in the UK anymore. He’s an immigrant here in the US.

Oh, the hypocrisy. https://t.co/T4moQF4gWP
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 1, 2025

In a column for the Telegraph in March, Carswell called for "a voluntary remigration scheme offering £20,000 per individual (or £50,000 per family) to immigrants from Muslim-majority countries willing to repatriate permanently."

He also called for "remigrating foreign born residents that have been welfare dependent for prolonged periods of time" - and for revoking the citizenship of "naturalised or British-born descendants of immigrants" who are "supportive of political Islamism".

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