British reform activists caught using racist abuse

Warning: This story contains language that may offend

Homophobic and racist comments apparently made by members of Reform UK were recorded by an undercover Channel 4 reporter as they campaigned for Nigel Farage to become MP for Clacton.

Reform UK has said those who make “unacceptable comments” will no longer be part of Mr Farage’s campaign.

The secret recordings feature a conversation between what appear to be Reform UK organizers.

A man linked to the party appears to make homophobic remarks, describing a pride flag on a police car as a “degenerate flag”.

“Why is the old bill promoting this bullshit?” he asks the group.

He repeatedly suggests that members of the LGBT+ community are pedophiles and criticises the police present at Pride.

He adds that if Reform UK forms a future government, “our police will be paramilitaries, they will not be police officers” and should “bring back the rope”.

He is also seen explaining to an undercover reporter why Reform UK chose to stand in Clacton, saying: “Look around you, the real England. You know what I mean, the real England.”

He added that it was “not like London, when you’re a stranger in your own country” and that “if you say hello to someone” it looks like they’re about to “stab you in the face “.

BBC News has been unable to verify the man’s identity and is attempting to contact him.

During the conversation, Reform UK’s senior campaigner Rob Bates said the party had “spent double” the legal spending limit in its campaign to elect Mr Farage.

Mr Bates later told Channel 4 News his comment was a joke and clarified he was not responsible for campaign spending.

Reform UK told the programme that campaign spending is “well within legal limits”.

Footage broadcast by Channel 4 shows further racist, homophobic and Islamophobic abuse apparently made by Andrew Parker, identified as a canvasser for Mr Farage, who used a racial slur to refer to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian origin.

Mr Parker also described Islam as “the most disgusting cult in existence” and suggested army recruits should carry out “target practice” by shooting at small boats bringing illegal migrants to the UK.

At one point, Mr Parker tells voters that reform would amount to “kicking all Muslims out of mosques and turning them into Wetherspoons”.

During the campaign, he advised the undercover reporter to use the term “illegal” when talking about immigration, particularly when speaking to non-white households.

Before the footage was published, Mr Parker made a statement to Channel 4, saying “neither Nigel Farage personally nor the Reform Party are aware of my personal views on immigration”.

Mr Parker said: “I have never discussed immigration with Nigel Farage or the Reform Party and any comments I have made during these recordings are my personal views on any subject on which I have commented. .

“I would therefore like to sincerely apologize to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal views have reflected poorly on them and brought them into disrepute, as that was not my intention.”

Speaking at a Reform UK event in Boston, Lincolnshire, party leader Nigel Farage said the party was not “perfect”.

“We had one or two candidates who said things they shouldn’t have said,” he said. “In most cases, they speak like ordinary people.

“They are not part of the mainstream Oxbridge political discourse, we understand that. In some cases, one or two people let us down and we let them go.

“Well, compare that to the international price-fixing and betting ring that is the modern Conservative Party. »

At Hubberts Bridge Community Centre, party chairman Richard Tice said the racist comments were “inappropriate”.

He said: “We have issued a statement and everything is self-explanatory in the statement.

“The reality is we’re a growing movement, and when you have unpaid volunteers, some people behave inappropriately. And they disappear.”

Peter Harris, Reform UK’s campaign director in Clacton, said he was “appalled by these reported comments”.

“All parties in such a short campaign face the challenges of working with many activists they may not have met before,” Harris added.

“Anyone identified as making unacceptable comments and sharing these views is not welcome in our campaign. We are running a campaign to represent all voters in Clacton. »

Other general election candidates running in Clacton can be found here.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the comments “clearly racist” and said the scandal was a test of Mr Farage’s leadership.

“It’s up to a leader to change their party to make sure the culture is right and the standards are understood by everyone in the party,” Sir Keir told BBC Breakfast.

“One has to ask why so many people who supported reform are being exposed in this particular way,” he added.