Reform UK activist's racial slur hurts, says Sunak

"Reform racism makes me feel pain and frustration," Sunak expressed.

Conservative leader Rishi Sunak expressed feeling upset and frustrated after a Reform UK volunteer used a racist term to refer to him.

Hidden recordings released by Channel 4 reveal a campaigner trying to help Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, win the election as MP for Clacton. In the recordings, the campaigner can be heard using a derogatory term related to race when referring to the prime minister, who is of Indian descent.

Reform UK stated that individuals who make inappropriate remarks will no longer be included in Mr. Farage's campaign.

When talking to the media, Mr. Sunak stated that his two daughters were subjected to racial slurs from Reform members who supported Nigel Farage.

"It's painful. It also fills me with rage," he expressed.

Mr. Farage has some explaining to do.

When Reform candidates and campaigners are seen using racist and misogynistic language and opinions without any pushback, it reflects on the culture within the Reform Party.

When Mr. Sunak replied to the comments, he made the decision to use the racist term again, explaining that he does so intentionally and with great disdain.

I carefully selected my words and I despise having to repeat them, really detest it. However, I believe it is crucial to address this issue directly and be transparent about it.

Essex Police are currently reviewing the remarks made by Reform campaigners on Channel 4 to determine if any laws have been broken. They are taking this matter very seriously and are working quickly to assess the situation.

Channel 4 aired a video that appears to show Andrew Parker, known as a campaigner for Mr. Farage, making racist and Islamophobic comments.

Mr Parker confided in a journalist who was secretly posing as someone else that he has consistently supported the Conservative party. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with Mr Sunak, whom he insulted with a racially charged term.

Mr. Parker is also quoted as saying that Islam is the most repulsive belief system and he recommended using small boats carrying illegal immigrants for target practice for military recruits.

At one stage, Mr. Parker expresses to the voters that Reform will involve "removing all Muslims from the mosques and transforming them into Wetherspoons".

While he was campaigning, he suggested to the undercover journalist to use the word "illegal" when talking about immigration, particularly when speaking to households of non-white individuals.

Before the video was released, Mr. Parker told Channel 4 that neither Nigel Farage nor the Reform Party knew about his thoughts on immigration.

Mr. Parker stated that he has never talked about immigration with Nigel Farage or the Reform Party. He clarified that any remarks he made in those recordings are solely his own opinions on the topics discussed.

"I want to sincerely apologize to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal opinions have negatively impacted their reputation. It was not my intention to do so."

Farage accuses canvasser of being the victim of a planned scheme involving racist remarks.

Mr. Farage said that the undercover filming done by Channel 4 was completely planned, and that Mr. Parker was a hired actor.

At first, he criticized the comments as "shocking" and stated that anyone who makes "unacceptable" remarks will be removed from the campaign.

However, when talking to the BBC, Mr. Farage expressed doubt about the authenticity of Mr. Parker's actions in the Channel 4 report.

He mentioned that Mr. Parker continuously spoke in a very disrespectful and offensive manner, noting that nobody talks like that and it seemed to never end.

I visited his website and watched some videos. He is a talented actor with strong speaking skills, but he has a distinctive style he refers to as "rough speaking". When he entered the office and started talking to me, his rough-speaking demeanor was evident. It was clear that he was in character from the moment he walked through the door.

In reaction to Mr. Farage's remarks, Channel 4 News stated: "We firmly support our thorough and unbiased journalism, which is evident in our work."

We first encountered Mr. Parker at the Reform UK party headquarters, where he was working as a canvasser for the Reform party.

"We did not give any money to the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else mentioned in this article. Mr. Parker was not familiar to Channel 4 News and was secretly recorded as part of an undercover operation."

Mr. Parker explained to the PA news agency that his remarks were just casual conversations that men often have in a social setting like a pub.

"I am not prejudiced. I have been in relationships with Muslim women," Mr. Parker shared.

He explained that he said those things in the heat of the moment because he was being provoked. When asked if he would like to apologize, he responded: "Of course I am sorry. They were spontaneous comments that everyone makes."

He mentions having many Pakistani and Muslim friends, and expresses frustration at constantly being questioned about the video.

The hidden recordings capture a discussion between individuals believed to be Reform UK leaders, including a man identified by Channel 4 as George Jones, a dedicated party member who arranges gatherings for Mr. Farage.

In the video, Mr. Jones refers to a Pride flag on a police car as a "degenerate flag".

He keeps saying that individuals in the LGBT+ community are pedophiles and disapproves of police presence at Pride events.

He also argues that if Reform UK were to establish a government in the future, the people in charge of law enforcement would be more like soldiers than traditional police officers. He goes on to suggest the reinstatement of capital punishment by hanging.

During an interview on ITV's Loose Women, Mr. Farage described the remarks as "crude, intoxicated, and inaccurate" and suggested that the individuals in the group were inebriated.

The BBC reached out to Reform UK to get more information about who had been kicked out.

You can discover all the candidates running for the Clacton constituency by clicking on the link provided.