Labour has called on Nigel Farage to sack two more Reform UK candidates after they were accused of making offensive and potentially racist social media posts. The party said Reform's vetting procedures were 'clearly not fit for purpose' following the latest controversies ahead of May's local elections.
Alan Stay, a candidate for the Isle of Wight, shared racist and sexist messages on Facebook, including one that repeatedly used an explicitly racist epithet. Another candidate, Caroline Panetta, standing in Bexley, retweeted anti-Islam comments and claimed Islam was 'the religion of rape, incest and paedophilia'. She also shared posts about George Floyd, calling his murder conviction a miscarriage of justice.
Labour chair Anna Turley said: 'What will it take for Nigel Farage to finally act? Farage has repeatedly boasted about Reform’s vetting procedures but it is still clearly not fit for purpose. Farage must condemn these vile remarks, sack them as Reform candidates and kick them out of his party without delay.'
Separately, Restore Britain, the party set up by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, accepted a donation from an activist who called for 'another Hitler' to come to power. Miles Routledge, who donated £2,500, also threatened to imprison journalists when he 'takes an ounce of power'. Lowe has declined to disown openly racist and far-right supporters.
