Farage tells Reform candidate who said David Lammy should ‘go home’ to Caribbean to apologise
Nigel Farage has told the Reform mayoral candidate to apologize for his remarks, saying David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean.
The Reform UK leader was under pressure to sack Reform’s Hampshire and Solent mayoral candidate Chris Parry after he made statements about Mr Lammy’s “loyalties” and praised Enoch Powell.
The retired Navy officer has since doubled down on his remarks, which Labor described as “racist and grossly offensive”, while senior Reform figures have been urged to condemn him.
Asked whether his social media posts made Mr Parry a good representative of Reform, Mr Farage said they were “exaggerated” and he should apologise.
“He also criticized a lot of white politicians quite harshly, calling them unpatriotic and suggesting they go to live in other countries,” he told reporters.
“Look, some of his comments are a bit rich. I understand that. He is extremely patriotic. He rose to the rank of Rear Admiral, and he has provided great services to this country.”
“But I think his comments about Lammy were exaggerated and he should apologize for them.”
Reform came under pressure to sack Mr Parry after it was revealed he had posted on X in February: “Lammy should go home to the Caribbean. [his] loyalty is a lie.”
Born and raised in north London, Mr Lammy was exposed to the horrific racism he was forced to endure throughout his childhood and youth.
Despite being widely condemned after his initial comments, Mr Parry later doubled down, writing to X: “Well, home is where the heart is. That’s what matters.”
He also suggested that the primary loyalty of at least eight politicians, including Labor MP Naz Shah and Your Party co-chair Zarah Sultana, was not to the UK.
In October, over footage showing London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and MP Dawn Butler attending a Jamaican-themed party at Labour’s annual conference, he wrote: “You really have to wonder where people’s primary loyalties lie.”
In an additional tweet, Mr Parry also described deceased right-wing former Conservative politician Enoch Powell as “unfulfilled”.
In his famous “rivers of blood” speech in 1968, Enoch Powell used provocative language to criticize immigration to the UK.
Mr Powell was fired from the Conservative Party front bench as a result of his speech.
Labor leader Anna Turley said the Reform leader “took no action over the mayoral candidate’s racist comments”.
He also criticized Farage for failing to apologize to schoolmates who accused him of racism while attending private London school Dulwich College in the 1970s.
he said Independent last month: “How big does the mountain of racist and deeply offensive comments made by Chris Parry need to be before Nigel Farage kicks him out of Reform? It’s disgraceful.”
“Farage’s refusal to take action against racism in his party shows just how dark a place he has led politics. He should finally drop Chris Parry as a candidate, kick him out of his party and apologize for not taking action sooner.”
