LONDON: British PM Rishi Sunak Friday denounced the use of a racist slur against him by a now-suspended member of the anti-immigration Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
Sunak said he was hurt and “angry” after broadcaster Channel 4 filmed a Reform canvasser using a racist slur to describe him, adding that Farage had “some questions to answer”. “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing p***,” said Sunak, first British prime minister of colour.
“It hurts and it makes me angry, and I think he has some questions to answer,” he added of the Reform leader. Sunak, who is of Indian descent, said he had deliberately repeated the slur word used “because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is”.
Farage, a hard-right populist who is standing to become an MP after seven previous failed bids, has seen his campaign increasingly embroiled in controversy. A string of Reform candidates have been ditched or suspended in recent weeks over allegations of offensive comments. In the latest such scandal, an undercover investigation by Channel 4 filmed at least two of its organisers making racist, Islamophobic and homophobic comments last week in Clacton-on-Sea, the constituency where Farage is running.
The individuals have now been dismissed, with Farage saying he was “dismayed” by the comments of “a handful of people associated with my local campaign”. “The appalling sentiments expressed by some in these exchanges bear no relation to my own views.”
Campaigner Andrew Parker, who is heard using the racist slur about Sunak, also called for new army recruits to carry out “target practice” by shooting migrants trying to cross the Channel illegally in boats. George Jones, a Reform events organiser, was filmed making homophobic remarks including describing the LGBTQ flag as “degenerate”.
Labour Party’s Keir Starmer, tipped to replace Sunak as PM, said he was “shocked” by the clip and that Farage faces a “test of leadership”. Farage was criticised earlier in the campaign for saying Sunak does not “understand our culture”, in reaction to the PM leaving early from D-Day commemorations in France. As per anti-racism outfit ‘Hope Not Hate’, Reform UK has had to withdraw 166 candidates, many of whom have made racist or offensive remarks.
Sunak said he was hurt and “angry” after broadcaster Channel 4 filmed a Reform canvasser using a racist slur to describe him, adding that Farage had “some questions to answer”. “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing p***,” said Sunak, first British prime minister of colour.
“It hurts and it makes me angry, and I think he has some questions to answer,” he added of the Reform leader. Sunak, who is of Indian descent, said he had deliberately repeated the slur word used “because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is”.
Farage, a hard-right populist who is standing to become an MP after seven previous failed bids, has seen his campaign increasingly embroiled in controversy. A string of Reform candidates have been ditched or suspended in recent weeks over allegations of offensive comments. In the latest such scandal, an undercover investigation by Channel 4 filmed at least two of its organisers making racist, Islamophobic and homophobic comments last week in Clacton-on-Sea, the constituency where Farage is running.
The individuals have now been dismissed, with Farage saying he was “dismayed” by the comments of “a handful of people associated with my local campaign”. “The appalling sentiments expressed by some in these exchanges bear no relation to my own views.”
Campaigner Andrew Parker, who is heard using the racist slur about Sunak, also called for new army recruits to carry out “target practice” by shooting migrants trying to cross the Channel illegally in boats. George Jones, a Reform events organiser, was filmed making homophobic remarks including describing the LGBTQ flag as “degenerate”.
Labour Party’s Keir Starmer, tipped to replace Sunak as PM, said he was “shocked” by the clip and that Farage faces a “test of leadership”. Farage was criticised earlier in the campaign for saying Sunak does not “understand our culture”, in reaction to the PM leaving early from D-Day commemorations in France. As per anti-racism outfit ‘Hope Not Hate’, Reform UK has had to withdraw 166 candidates, many of whom have made racist or offensive remarks.