Nigel Farage is facing criticism for not taking action against a senior Reform candidate who made a series of “racist and offensive” remarks about politicians. Chris Parry, who had already come under fire for suggesting that David Lammy should “return to the Caribbean,” also raised doubts about the loyalty of eight other minority ethnic figures to the UK. These individuals included Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, independent MP Zarah Sultana, and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Despite being called out for Mr. Parry’s comments on the Deputy PM, two of Mr. Farage’s top aides declined to condemn him. Labour chairwoman Anna Turley criticized Farage for tolerating racism within his party. An investigation of Mr. Parry’s social media posts by The Guardian uncovered derogatory remarks he made about Ms. Mahmood and Mr. Yousaf, questioning their loyalty to the UK.
Furthermore, Mr. Parry targeted other figures such as Labour MP Dawn Butler, Scottish equalities minister Kaukab Stewart, and Labour MP Naz Shah in his comments. Ms. Turley asserted that Farage should have removed Parry from Reform UK and disassociated from him earlier. She accused Farage of ignoring racism within his party, which she deemed unacceptable for a political leader.
During a press conference, Richard Tice, Farage’s deputy, refrained from condemning Parry’s statements about Mr. Lammy. Tice emphasized that political disagreements are part of the norm and did not address the issue further. Reform MP Danny Kruger also avoided commenting on Parry’s remarks, stating that it was up to Nigel and the party leadership to address the matter.
In an interview on Talk TV, Mr. Parry stood by his comments, asserting that a foreign secretary’s primary loyalty should be to the UK. When asked about Mr. Lammy’s allegiance, Parry suggested directing the question to Lammy himself.
The Mirror reached out to Reform for a response on the issue.