NIGEL Farage has cancelled his party leader’s interview which was scheduled to be broadcast on the BBC on Tuesday night.
The Reform UK leader pulled out of the Panorama grilling from the BBC’s Nick Robinson.
The BBC’s TV schedule is listing an episode of Tokyo Vice to be broadcast in its place.
READ MORE: BBC confirms interviews with major party leaders – but not Keir Starmer
The Daily Mail reported that sources said Farage would still be taking part in the BBC interview series at a later date.
Rishi Sunak was interviewed by Robinson on Monday night, and other party leaders including John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth are set to appear in the coming days.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has still not said he will take part in an interview.
The news of Farage's cancellation comes one day after the BBC revealed one of his Reform candidates at the General Election had argued that the UK should have remained neutral while Adolf Hitler's Nazis stormed Europe.
Reform backed Bexhill and Battle candidate Ian Gribbin over the remarks, saying they were “probably true”.
Gribbin was also found to have made derogatory comments about women, calling them the "sponging gender" that “on aggregate as a group ... only take from society”.
Reform UK insisted Gribbin's remarks had been tongue-in-cheek.
And on Monday, the BBC made clear that it had edited its Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg after broadcast due to a segment interviewing Farage which was "not in line" with editorial standards.
During his appearance in the BBC Panorama interview with Robinson on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged Tory voters not to have their heads turned by Farage as Reform gain on the Conservatives in the polls.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak says he will ‘continue to cut taxes’ despite record tax burden
Challenged on Reform and Farage, Sunak said: “So the choice for everybody, there’s only going to be one of two people who’s prime minister, Keir Starmer or myself.
“A vote for anyone who’s not a Conservative candidate is just making it more likely that Keir Starmer is that person.
“So if you ask someone, you say, you know, what makes a Conservative, if you are someone who wants lower taxes, if you want your pension protected, if you want migration reduced, if you want a sensible approach to net zero that prioritises our security and reducing people’s bills, that’s what I will offer you in this election.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel