Reform UK drops three candidates over offensive comments

Reform UK has dropped three of its candidates following reports they had made offensive comments, a spokesperson has confirmed.

However, Edward Oakenfull, who is standing in Derbyshire Dales; Robert Lomas, a candidate in Barnsley North, and Leslie Lilley, standing in Southend East and Rochford, will still appear on the ballot paper as Reform candidates as it is too late for them to be removed.

It comes after leader Nigel Farage disowned the candidates during an appearance on BBC Question Time on Friday evening, when their remarks were put to him.

Mr Farage told the programme: “I want nothing to do with them.”

Warning: This story contains language that may offend

Mr Oakenfull posted derogatory comments about the IQ of sub-Saharan Africans on social media last year. He previously told the BBC the remarks had been taken out of context.

Robert Lomas reportedly said black people should “get off [their] lazy arses” and stop acting “like savages”. The comments were reported by the Times on 8 June, with Reform at the time claiming they were “out of context part quotations” and it needed more time to respond.

Leslie Lilley reportedly described people arriving on small boats as “scum” in a social media post, adding: “I hope your family get robbed, beaten or attacked.”

Asked about the comments on a BBC Question Times Leaders’ Special, Mr Farage said: “You get people in all parties saying bad things and wrong things.”

However, he argued this was partly the consequence of having to find candidates quickly following the surprise announcement that there would be a general election in July.

Since the start of the general election campaign, Reform has faced persistent questions over its selection of candidates, after numerous examples of offensive social media posts emerged.

All the main parties have had to drop potential parliamentary candidates over inappropriate comments, however this has been the case for more Reform candidates than other parties.

The party has blamed a company it hired to conduct background checks on would-be candidates, claiming it failed to carry out vetting before the election was called.