Jenrick says Farage has done more than almost anyone to stand against racism
The Reform UK Treasury spokesperson defended Nigel Farage on BBC Radio 4 after an ITV undercover investigation renewed allegations that the party hosts extremists.
At a glance
- Robert Jenrick told BBC Radio 4 that Nigel Farage has probably done more than almost anybody to stand against racism and the far right.
- ITV Exposure's year-long undercover investigation showed Reform councillors and candidates making racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic remarks.
- Footage shows Farage resisting advisers who wanted Chris Parry sacked, with an official telling him: "You're protecting him."
Reform UK's Treasury spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, has said Nigel Farage has "probably done more than almost anybody else to stand against racism and the far right", as he sought to defend the party against fresh allegations that it hosts extremists.
Jenrick, the MP for Newark, made the remarks on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He described Farage as "the most heavily scrutinised figure in British politics" and said the ITV documentary that prompted the questions had "failed to besmirch his character".
What the investigation alleged
The comments followed a year-long undercover investigation by ITV Exposure, which has shown Reform councillors and election candidates making threats of extreme violence and expressing racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic views.
In footage released by ITV, a senior Reform official is seen warning Farage that he was "protecting" a high-profile mayoral candidate accused of making racist comments about the former Labour deputy prime minister David Lammy. Sarah Pochin, one of Reform's two female MPs, is also seen complaining that other party officials are chauvinistic and exclude women.
Earlier clips showed Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, calling Asian homeowners "parasites" and saying no more than 1% of the British population could be non-white.
The Parry case
Further footage shows Farage discussing Chris Parry, a retired rear admiral selected to contest the Hampshire and the Solent mayoral election for Reform. The party stood by Parry for months after it emerged he had said a former foreign secretary should "go home to the Caribbean", and had suggested at least eight other politicians from minority ethnic backgrounds did not have a primary loyalty to the UK. Reform suspended him in March after the Guardian revealed further remarks.
In a recorded conversation, Farage told Ed Sumner, Reform's head of communications, that Parry "must apologise to Lammy" and move on. Sumner replied: "You're protecting him." Sumner had earlier described Parry as "clearly a racist".
Farage has repeatedly promised over the past two years to rid Reform of "extremists" and "bigots" and to introduce vetting. The party says it carries out vetting checks on everyone who wants to stand for election.
Jenrick defended that process, saying: "In my experience, all political parties have bad apples." He noted that Feeney had been a Reform councillor for a short time but a Conservative councillor for much longer, and said the Conservatives had "absolutely no vetting whatsoever by the central party for local councillors".
Source: The Guardian World.
Questions and answers
- What did Robert Jenrick say about Nigel Farage and racism?
- On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Jenrick said Farage is probably the person who has done more than almost anybody else to stand against racism and the far right. He also said the ITV documentary failed to besmirch Farage's character.
- What did the ITV undercover investigation find about Reform UK?
- The year-long ITV Exposure investigation showed Reform councillors and election candidates making threats of extreme violence and expressing racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic views. It also filmed a senior official telling Farage he was protecting a mayoral candidate accused of racist remarks.
- What happened with Reform UK candidate Chris Parry?
- Parry, a retired rear admiral, was kept on as Reform's Hampshire and the Solent mayoral candidate for months after saying a former foreign secretary should "go home to the Caribbean". He was suspended in March after the Guardian revealed further remarks.
