Ontario Premier Doug Ford kicked a backbencher out of the Progressive Conservative caucus on Friday after what he called repeated and serious lapses in judgment.

Goldie Ghamari, who represents the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, recently took a virtual meeting with Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the far-right English Defence League.

After Ghamari posted on social media about the meeting, the National Council of Canadian Muslims called Robinson an Islamophobe and urged Ford to remove Ghamari from his caucus.

Ford’s office initially said in a written statement that the premier was “extremely disappointed” in Ghamari’s decision to give a platform to someone whose behaviour and beliefs are at odds with those of the government.