Rishi Sunak condemns racist slur from Reform campaigner: It hurts, makes me angry
In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned racist slurs directed at him by Reform UK campaigners. Sunak said he was “hurt” and “angry” by such comments.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday condemned the use of a racist slur against him by an anti-immigration Reform UK party campaigner and said such remarks hurt him and make him angry.
The campaigner’s remarks came as the general election campaign in the United Kingdom entered its final week.
Some other campaigners made racist, homophobic and offensive comments in Clacton-on-Sea, eastern England, where Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is hoping to be elected as a Member of the Parliament next Thursday.
One canvasser was heard using the racist slur about Sunak.
The supporter also described Islam as “the most disgusting cult” and called for Muslims to be kicked “out of mosques” and their places of worship turned into pubs.
Responding to the remarks, Rishi Sunak said, “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing Paki. It hurts and it makes me angry.”
“I think he has some questions to answer. And I don’t repeat those words lightly.”
“I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is,” the British Prime Minister said.
Meanwhile, Farage, who campaigned as a European parliamentarian for Britain to leave the European Union and now wants a freeze on immigration, called the campaigner’s comments a “complete and total set-up”.
He suggested the canvasser, Andrew Parker, who was leafleting in Clacton last week, may have been paid to act in the video, possibly by opponents threatened by the party’s popularity.
This was not the lone incident of Reform UK candidates making derogatory comments. Earlier, a string of such candidates had been ditched or suspended over allegations of offensive comments.
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.