Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain brands Theresa May a ‘monster’

Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has branded Theresa May ‘a monster’ and ‘a threat’ over her decision to order air strikes in Syria.

The star blasted Mrs May in a tweet just hours after the Prime Minister spoke in defence of the UK’s military action with France and the United States a week ago following chemical attacks by the Syrian regime.

Ms Hussain wrote: ‘This woman [Mrs May] is the threat. We must take a stand and defend ourselves from these monsters that call themselves leaders.’

It is believed Ms Hussain – one of six children born to Bangladeshi parents in Luton – posted the tweet shortly after the Prime Minister publicly defended the missile strikes.

Ms Hussain, 33, a Muslim mother-of-three who is one of the BBC’s biggest stars, deleted the tweet shortly afterwards.

Ms Hussain’s comments are likely to shock many of her fans and may also be at odds with BBC guidelines that limit the extent to which its stars and presenters can comment on political issues.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen last night slammed Ms Hussain, saying: ‘Nadiya Hussain is very fortunate in that she lives in an open, free, democratic country. As such, she is entitled to hold whatever views she wishes, however misguided and offensive, on all issues including Government policies.

‘However, given she works for our “impartial” taxpayer-funded national broadcaster, I am unsurprised she thought better of her bizarre tweet and deleted it.

‘I believe her comments were not only extremely unwise, given her position, they were also wrong. Surely the “monsters” were the people who authorised and carried out the horrific gas attack against innocent women and children in Douma?’

Ms Hussain, who shot to fame when she won the BBC’s The Great British Bake Off in 2015, has posted several tweets about Syria. In one, she said: ‘Fighting fire with fire can never be the answer. It aggravates an already volatile situation. How do we help as a country?’

In another, she said: ‘Is it just me, or is anyone else trying to convince their children that there won’t be a World War 3.’

Ms Hussain has become something of a national treasure. She baked a cake for the Queen’s 90th birthday and has been named as one of the most influential women in Britain. But her latest tirade will embarrass BBC bosses. In the past two years, she has presented several shows for the broadcaster such as The Chronicles Of Nadiya and Nadiya’s British Food Adventure. She also co-hosted The Big Family Cooking Showdown.

BBC editorial guidelines on the use of social media state: ‘Personal use of the internet by BBC staff must be tempered by an awareness of the potential conflicts that may arise… On social networking sites, you should be mindful that the information you disclose does not bring the BBC into disrepute… Non editorial staff should make their role clear if they wish to engage in political activity.’

A BBC spokesman last night insisted: ‘Nadiya Hussain is not a BBC staff member and her personal social media accounts are not connected to her work as a BBC presenter.’ A spokesman for Ms Hussain said: ‘As a food and travel presenter, Nadiya is not in breach of BBC guidelines.’

Nadiya Hussain with Bake Off host Mary Berry