British PM Rishi Sunak denounces racist slur by hard-right party campaigner
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak buying fish and chips for the media, during an election campaign visit to Redcar, in north-east England, on June 28.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on June 28 denounced the use of a racist slur against him by a now-suspended member of the anti-immigration Reform UK party led by Mr Nigel Farage.
Mr Sunak said he was hurt and “angry” after broadcaster Channel 4 filmed a Reform canvasser using a racist slur to describe him, adding that Mr 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 Mr Sunak, Britain’s first 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.
Mr Sunak said he had deliberately repeated the slur word used “because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is”.
Mr Farage, a hard-right populist who is standing to become an MP after seven failed attempts, 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 east England constituency where Mr Farage is running.
The individuals have now been dismissed, with Mr 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, those of the vast majority of our supporters or Reform UK policy,” he added.
‘Divisive behaviour’
One campaigner, Mr Andrew Parker, is heard using the racist slur about Mr Sunak, describing Islam as “the most disgusting cult” and calling for Muslims to be kicked “out of mosques”, which should be turned into pubs.
Speaking to a constituent, Mr Parker also called for new army recruits to carry out “target practice” by shooting migrants trying to cross the Channel illegally in boats.
Meanwhile, Mr George Jones, a Reform events organiser, was filmed making homophobic remarks, including describing the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) flag as “degenerate”.
Far-right party Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is standing to become an MP after seven previous failed attempts.
PHOTO: AFP
Mr Sunak also denounced Mr Farage’s previous praise for British-American influencer Andrew Tate, who faces charges of human trafficking and rape, among others, in Romania. Tate has denied all charges.
Hitting out at the “culture in the Reform party”, Mr Sunak said: “Andrew Tate isn’t an important voice for men. He’s a vile misogynist. And our politics and country is better than that.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer, who is tipped to replace Mr Sunak as prime minister, said he was “shocked” by the footage and that Mr Farage faces a “test of leadership”.
Mr Farage was criticised earlier in the election campaign for saying that Mr Sunak does not “understand our culture”, in response to the Prime Minister leaving early from D-Day commemorations in France.
According to the anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate, Reform UK has had to withdraw 166 candidates since the beginning of the year, many of whom have made racist or offensive remarks. AFP
