Nigel Farage ‘protected mayoral candidate after racist remarks’

Nigel Farage has been accused by a senior member of his own party of “protecting” a mayoral candidate who made racist remarks about David Lammy, as calls grow for members to resign over racism and sexism revealed by undercover journalists. Ed Sumner, Reform’s director of communications, accused Farage of defending a politician whom he described as “clearly a racist” for writing a social media post saying that the then deputy prime minister “must go home to the Caribbean where [his] loyalty lies”. Most commented 1 British-made drone boats used in attack on Russian port of Sochi Defence 174 comments 2 Ukraine ‘has run out of Patriot interceptor missiles’ Russia-Ukraine war 260 comments 3 Severe drought declared in England for first time Environment 101 comments 4 Lisa Nandy ‘minded to intervene’ in Sky’s £1.6bn deal for ITV Companies & Markets 67 comments 5 Sonay Kartal trounces Jasmine Paolini to reach Wuhan Open quarter-finals Tennis 4 comments The conversation was filmed in Reform’s Westminster headquarters as part of an undercover documentary by ITV and follows another investigation that filmed local Reform candidates making racist and sexually explicit remarks while canvassing — including calling black children “animals” and threatening to sexually assault a female candidate. Farage reacts to the revelations in the ITV documentary Sumner was filmed telling an undercover reporter that Dr Chris Parry, the mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent, was “clearly a racist … if it was up to me I would have kicked him out f***ing months ago” for his post about Lammy as well as his questioning of the loyalty of eight other prominent black and Muslim politicians on social media. Top stories 1 US inflation hotter than expected as Iran war stokes fuel costs Economics However, Farage was seen instructing the press office that the repercussion should be only to “apologise to Lammy”, with Sumner responding: “You’re protecting him.” Advertisement Farage said: “It’s showing a bit of … sorrow. Look, ‘I’m sorry’ is probably a good thing to hear. Just take the f***ing deal. Trouble is he’s a Rear Admiral. That’s the problem.” Top stories 1 Should you buy shares in Vanguard LifeStrategy? Companies & Markets Sumner told the undercover reporter that the job would mean “you have to start defending the indefensible”. After apologising to Lammy, Parry was allowed to remain as Reform’s mayoral candidate but was finally suspended months later “pending investigation” over controversial comments about a Jewish neighbourhood watch group. Reform has not published the results and Parry told ITV that there never was an investigation. After it emerged that Gavin Beales, a councillor in North Northamptonshire, was registered on a white supremacist dating website, the undercover reporter was also told that “it’s not a resignation issue” and he should not be suspended. Advertisement A senior press officer said: “You get Muslim dating sites, Christian dating sites, black dating sites, Jamaican dating sites… it’s not great, but…” The site was advertised for “Europids seeking tribal love”, promoted “the survival of the white race” and had links to forums and material associated with fascist and Nazi ideology. Beales said he was inadvertently linked to the site, would not have chosen to join and that he abhorred racism. Meanwhile, a Reform councillor who was filmed calling Asian homeowners “parasites” has been suspended from the prison service, as calls for others to resign intensify. Alan Feeney, a councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, in the West Midlands, was suspended from his job as a custodial manager at HMP Birmingham after he made the comments while canvassing homes in April and May. Advertisement He was secretly recorded by journalists calling Asian families in the area “absolute parasites” and said he would not bother knocking on the door of a house if it was an Asian name, an approach he called “Alan’s racist canvassing”. “When a house comes up for sale, white people need to be in there,” he said. “You almost need to out-Muslim the Muslims.” Alan Feeney in the documentary and, below, with Farage ITV News ITV News The Ministry of Justice called the comments, filmed in the ITV News investigation, “despicable” and said they were “entirely at odds” with the standards expected of prison staff. It said the comments would be investigated. “Any form of racism or misogyny is treated extremely seriously and rooted out,” the MoJ added. HM Prison and Probation Service describes custodial managers as “the most senior uniformed officers in a prison”. Advertisement Another Reform candidate, Chris Whelan, was filmed talking about a woman, saying: “If she was my daughter, it would still be bath night on a Thursday.” He said he would have sexually assaulted another female candidate in Birmingham “if she’d have given me a hug”. Whelan has resigned from Reform, citing personal and health reasons. Chris Whelan ITV News Feeney was also filmed talking about a female Reform candidate from Birmingham, saying, “I didn’t know where to look”, before Whelan adds: “I’d have been sniffing that seat as soon as she got up.” Feeney said on Monday that he had “mutually agreed” to step down from Reform but would continue as an independent councillor. The documentary involved eight members in Reform. So far, three of the councillors have resigned. Advertisement ITV News said it had reporters undercover with Reform UK candidates and councillors across England and Wales for a year running up to the elections in May and four by-election campaigns. Dean Miller, a Reform councillor representing Bromley in south London, was recorded calling black children “animals” while campaigning for the party in the Makerfield by-election. He also claimed that the King was secretly a Muslim and called for him to be decapitated. Miller told ITV that he had been heavily medicated at the time and that he no longer represented Reform. Farage’s party has in recent months slipped from first ‌place in opinion polls after allegations about its finances, and as Labour’s popularity has rebounded under Andy Burnham. Farage has insisted that Reform UK does not have an issue with vetting and that the party had a process “to a much higher standard than other parties”. However, he told the BBC: “You can’t vet for future comments. I can’t predict what they’re going to say after a drink, when they’re being provoked by somebody or egged on to say something.” Reform said in a statement: “In some cases, there have been suspensions and due process must be followed. Reform UK has improved and prioritised its vetting procedures, but from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting. This is the same for all organisations.” Burnham said Reform should take “immediate and firm action against those who’ve been revealed to be making these abhorrent comments”. The prime minister added: “There is no place for any form of racism, antisemitism, discrimination in British politics, and we all should be relentless in repeating that and taking the firmest possible action.” The Conservatives said: “Nigel Farage promised to make Reform ready for government. These sorry individuals are proof he has failed.” A Reform spokesman said the ITV investigation relied on “extreme methods of deception”, adding: “There is no room for racism in Reform UK. We always respect due process of investigations and whilst these are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases.”