Current:Home > MyNigel Farage criticizes racist remarks by Reform UK worker. But he later called it a ‘stitch-up’ -GrowthProspect
Nigel Farage criticizes racist remarks by Reform UK worker. But he later called it a ‘stitch-up’
View
Date:2025-04-14 18:43:12
LONDON (AP) — Anti-immigration British politician Nigel Farage on Friday criticized a worker for his Reform UK party who suggested migrants crossing the English Channel in boats should be used for “target practice.”
But Farage later suggested that the episode had been a “stitch-up” by Reform’s opponents.
Party activist Andrew Parker was heard suggesting army recruits with guns should be posted to “just shoot” migrants landing on beaches, in recordings made by an undercover reporter from Channel 4. He also used a racial slur about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian descent. Another campaign worker called the LGBT pride flag “degenerate.”
Reform UK said it had cut ties with the two men. Farage said he was “dismayed” by the comments and called some of the language “reprehensible.”
“The appalling sentiments expressed by some in these exchanges bear no relation to my own views, those of the vast majority of our supporters or Reform UK,” he said in a statement.
Sunak said the slur used by Parker “hurts and it makes me angry,” especially since his two daughters had to hear it. He said Farage “has some questions to answer.”
“As prime minister, but more importantly as a father of two young girls, it’s my duty to call out this corrosive and divisive behavior,” Sunak said Friday on the campaign trail in northeast England.
Over 50 countries go to the polls in 2024
- The year will test even the most robust democracies. Read more on what’s to come here.
- Take a look at the 25 places where a change in leadership could resonate around the world.
- Keep track of the latest AP elections coverage from around the world here.
On Friday, Farage sought to cast doubt on the Channel 4 report after it emerged that Parker is an actor.
“Folks, this is the biggest stitch-up I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said in a video for supporters.
Parker confirmed that he’s an actor, but said that he volunteered for Reform UK, because he believes in its message.
Channel 4 News said it stood by its “rigorous and duly impartial journalism.”
“We met Mr. Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser,” the channel said in a statement.
Channel 4 News said that Parker was covertly filmed by an undercover investigator inside the Reform UK campaign and that no one was paid for the footage.
The party is running candidates in hundreds of seats for the U.K. election on July 4, aiming to siphon off voters from the dominant Conservative and Labour parties. It has disowned several candidates after media reported on their far-right ties or offensive comments.
Speaking at a campaign event on Thursday, Farage said that “one or two people let us down and we let them go.” But he said in other cases of criticized comments, “in most cases they’re just speaking like ordinary folk.”
Farage, a right-wing populist and ally of Donald Trump, shook up the election campaign when he announced in early June that he was running.
He has sought to focus the election debate on immigration, particularly the tens of thousands of people each year who try to reach the U.K. in small boats across the English Channel.
The migrants — mostly asylum-seekers fleeing poverty and conflict — account for a small portion of overall migration to Britain. But the struggle to stop the hazardous crossings has become an emotive political issue.
Opponents have long accused Farage of fanning racist attitudes toward migrants and condemned what they call his scapegoat rhetoric.
Farage, 60, is making his eighth attempt to be elected to Parliament after seven failed bids. Polls suggest he has a comfortable lead in the race to represent the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea.
While Reform is likely to win only a handful of seats, at most, in the 650-seat House of Commons, Farage says his goal is to get a foothold and lead the “real” opposition to a Labour Party government if the Conservatives lose power after 14 years in office.
He is modeling his strategy on Canada’s Reform Party, which helped push that country’s Conservatives to the verge of wipeout in the 1993 election before reshaping Canadian conservative politics.
veryGood! (8236)
Related
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Powerball jackpot reaches $291 million ahead of Monday's drawing. See winning numbers for Aug. 21.
- Can we talk Wegmans? Why it's time for a 'chat checkout' lane at grocery stores.
- Sha’Carri Richardson wins 100, claims fastest woman in world title
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- PGA Tour player Erik Compton arrested; charged with strong-arm robbery, domestic battery
- Lawyers win access to files in New Hampshire youth detention center abuse case
- 1-year-old dies after being left in hot day-care van, and driver is arrested
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Jennifer Aniston Reveals She Got a Salmon Sperm Facial Because She'll Try Almost Anything Once
Ranking
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- See Nick Jonas Carry Daughter Malti in IKEA Basket on Central Park Outing With Priyanka Chopra
- Washington Commanders end Baltimore Ravens' preseason win streak at 24 games
- Allies say Guatemala election winner is a highly qualified peacebuilder, but opponent’s still silent
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Untangling Ariana Grande and Scooter Braun's Status Amid Demi Lovato's Management Exit
- Citing appeals court, Georgia asks judge to reinstate ban on hormone therapy for transgender minors
- 'A miracle:' Virginia man meets Chilean family 42 years after he was stolen as newborn
Recommendation
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Hawaii officials urge families of people missing after deadly fires to give DNA samples
Biden administration spending $150M to help small forest owners benefit from selling carbon credits
Southern California begins major cleanup after Tropical Storm Hilary's waist-level rainfall
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Dentist convicted of killing wife on African safari gets life sentence, $15M in penalties
Chipotle IQ is back: How to take the test, what to know about trivia game
YouTuber Hank Green Says He's in Complete Remission 3 Months After Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer Diagnosis