Britain’s anti-immigration Reform Party has withdrawn its support for three candidates who have allegedly made racist comments, the party told British media on Saturday, days before a general election.
With nominations closing ahead of next Thursday’s election, the three candidates under the Reform Party banner will remain on the ballot.
According to the BBC, Edward Oakenfull, a candidate in central England last year, made comments about the intelligence of people of sub-Saharan African descent. Oakenfull confirmed that these statements were taken out of context.
According to the Times, candidate Robert Lomas said black people should “move their lazy asses” and stop acting “like savages.” The party spoke of “fragmentary quotes out of context.”
As for the candidate, Leslie Lilly, she is said to have described on social media migrants who illegally cross the Channel as “trash”.
Reform Party leader Nigel Farage publicly disavowed the three candidates when confronted by the BBC about the statements they were accused of making, saying: “I don’t want to have anything to do with them.”
According to Hope Not Hate, the Reform Party has had to drop 166 candidates since the start of the year after several made racist or offensive statements.
Farage, who announced his candidacy in early June, admitted that his party had not had time to “fully vet” its candidates.
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