A canvasser on Nigel Farage’s campaign has been filmed saying people who arrive by small boat should be shot and using racist language about Rishi Sunak.
Undercover footage recorded by Channel 4 News shows Reform UK activist Andrew Parker saying the party should “kick Muslims out of mosques and turn them into Wetherspoons ”. He also said that army recruits should use asylum seekers crossing the Channel as “target practice”.
Mr Farage said he is “dismayed” by the comments, and said Mr Parker will no longer be working on his campaign in Clacton, Essex.
Describing how he’d deal with people coming by small boats, Mr Parker told an investigator: “Get the young (Army) recruits there, yeah, with guns on the f****** beach, target practice. F****** just shoot them.”
And the footage also shows him encouraging a paramedic to deny oxygen to patients if they are “any of that f****** lot”. He described Islam as a “cult”.
Mr Parker said: “We’re f****** kicking all the Muslims out of the mosques and turning them into Wetherspoons.“ And in the same conversation he used a sickening racist term to describe Mr Sunak.
Giving advice on bringing up migration on the doorstep he told the investigator: “The immigration thing, use the word ‘illegal’. Emphasise ‘illegal’ especially if you open the door and there’s a bunch of p****.”
George Jones, who has been running events for Mr Farage’s campaign, told the undercover investigator that Clacton was chosen because it is “proper England”. He said: “Not like in London when you’re a foreigner in your own country, and if you say ‘hello’ to someone they look like they’re about to f****** knife you in the face.”
Mr Jones also made a homophobic remark when a police car passed by with a Pride flag. He went on to say that “our police officers will be paramilitaries, they won’t be police”. And he added that Reform UK should “bring back the noose”.
It comes as Reform UK enjoys a surge in the polls, with Electoral Calculus predicting the party could win as many as 18 seats. In a statement Mr Farage said: “I am dismayed by the reported comments of a handful of people associated with my local campaign, particularly those who are volunteers. They will no longer be with the campaign.
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“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. Some of the language used was reprehensible.
“Reform UK is a party for everybody who believes in Britain. I am proud that our supporters, candidates and national campaign team come from all backgrounds and identities.”
But he questioned whether Channel 4 was subjecting grassroots campaigners to “similar subterfuges”, or whether Reform UK was being given “special attention”. Peter Harris, Reform UK’s campaign manager in Clacton – where Mr Farage hopes to become an MP – said he was “appalled” by the comments.
He said: “All parties in such a short campaign are having to deal with the challenges of working with many activists they may not have met before. Any individuals who have been identified as making unacceptable comments and holding those views are not welcome in our campaign. We are running a campaign to represent all voters in Clacton.”
Mr Parker said in a statement to Channel 4: “I would like to make it clear that neither Nigel Farage personally or the Reform Party are aware of my personal views on immigration. I have never discussed Immigration with either Nigel Farage or the Reform Party and that any comments made by me during those recordings are my own personal views on any subject I commented on.”
He continued: “I would therefore like to apologise profusely to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal views have reflected badly on them and brought them into disrepute as this was not my intention. I offered to help the Reform Party on their canvassing as I believe that they are the only party that offer the UK voter a practical solution to the illegal immigration problem that we have in the UK.”
The Mirror has contacted Reform UK for further comment.