Farage says ‘sometimes people lie’ when quizzed on Reform’s vetting failures after Nazi salute candidate quits
Nigel Farage claimed “people lie sometimes” as he defended Reform UK’s vetting process following a series of “disgusting” incidents involving party candidates.
The leader of Reform England was asked about the strength of the party’s vetting procedures after a photo of a Welsh Senedd candidate giving a Nazi salute emerged online.
This followed a series of other incidents, including when another candidate branded former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf an “Islamist moron”.
But at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Farage claimed his candidates were scrutinized more than “any other party”, but acknowledged the vetting process had not been foolproof in the past.
“I accept that in the last general election there was actually no scrutiny or proper scrutiny,” he said.
“But I came into the general election too late for any of this to have any effect and before that the party didn’t have the resources. I accept that this has left a bit of a millstone since then, but you’ll see we’re in pretty good shape.”
He said candidates who spoke about the party’s process were asked to “tell us the truth” and submit their social media accounts for checking.
“We do all this. Sometimes people lie to you and use social media accounts that you cannot find at all, as an example,” he said.
“The reality is that this is a huge series of elections. There are up to 5,000 seats across the country in Scotland, Wales and London council and each party will have difficulties with some of their candidates.”
His comments came after photos of Corey Edwards giving a Nazi salute at least six years ago surfaced online just hours after he announced his candidacy.
It sparked criticism from political opponents, who branded the image “utterly disgraceful” and criticized the standard of Reformation UK’s electorate candidates.
Mr Edwards apologized for the image Independent: “A photo was shared from years ago that I realized looked bad and could be misinterpreted.
“There is a clear difference between the ordinary use of the dreadnought and my imitation of a Welsh footballer using it or Basil Fawlty’s walk.”
A few days ago Reform was forced to sack Hampshire mayoral candidate Chris Parry for likening a Jewish neighborhood watch group to “Islamists on horseback” following an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances.
Reform England’s home affairs spokesman also defended the party’s review process, which Mr Farage has previously promised to improve.
Asked about the party’s vetting processes, Zia Yusuf told the BBC on Sunday: “Obviously this is all disgusting and the party has taken action on it.
“Reform has screened more than 8,000 candidates in the last few years. Even if our success rate is 99.9 percent, very few will make it.”
