Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday denounced a racist slur directed at him by a campaigner from the anti-immigration Reform UK party, as the general election campaign reached its final stages.
An undercover investigation by Channel 4 captured campaigners in Clacton-on-Sea, eastern England, making racist, homophobic, and offensive comments. This area is where Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is contesting to become an MP in the upcoming election.
A canvasser was recorded using a racist slur against Sunak, a British-Indian and practicing Hindu who is the country’s first prime minister of color.
The same supporter also described Islam as “the most disgusting cult” and called for Muslims to be expelled from mosques, suggesting the places of worship be converted into pubs.
Farage, known for his role in advocating Brexit and currently pushing for an immigration freeze, dismissed the comments as a “complete and total set-up.” He suggested that the canvasser, Andrew Parker, who was distributing leaflets in Clacton last week, might have been paid to appear in the video, possibly by political opponents.
Parker, identified as a part-time actor, stated that his campaigning for Reform UK was done in a personal capacity.
In response, Sunak expressed his outrage: “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, and 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.”
Channel 4 denied Farage’s claims of fabrication, stating, “We met Mr. Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.”
