A REFORM UK candidate in Scotland allegedly called climate campaigner Greta Thunberg “Asperger's girl”.
According to a report in The Ferret, another candidate shared a social media post comparing Allah to the devil.
Former Ukip candidate Otto Inglis – who is standing for Reform UK in Edinburgh West – reportedly made the remark about Thunberg in a hustings while standing for Ukip in the 2019 European elections.
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The former rector of the University of Edinburgh, Peter McColl, who was at the hustings in Linlithgow, told The Ferret the comment was made as part of a “ramble about his belief that climate change is a conspiracy”.
Meanwhile, it’s also been reported that Reform’s candidate Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Tony Ridden, shared a meme on Twitter/X on June 16 with an image of the devil overlaid with the words: “Muslims call me Allah… You know me as Satan.”
The Ferret says the post was removed when it approached Reform.
Reacting to the investigation, campaigners have said it is clear that Nigel Farage’s (above) party has “serious problems when it comes to candidates”.
Both Inglis and Ridden were announced as candidates in the days leading up to June 7 – the deadline for prospective MPs to register for the election.
Other candidates announced before the cut-off have also come under fire for comments they made.
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The former leader of the Conservative group on Edinburgh City Council Cameron Rose, for example, was accused of climate science denial.
In 2019, he reportedly told youth climate strikers that he was “sceptical” about the science on climate change.
Elsewhere, the candidate for Edinburgh South West, Ian Harper, wrote in his statement to voters that the UK must “ditch the globalist corporate driven agendas” forced upon the country by those “who serve a disruptive woke, net zero, open borders dystopia”.
Hope Not Hate’s Georgina Laming said: “Reform UK does not publicly position itself as a racist movement, but it is clear from investigations into their candidates that many racists see the party as an appropriate vehicle for their politics.
“Dozens of candidates selected by the party have been revealed to have expressed unequivocally racist statements and calls for discrimination against a wide range of minority groups in the UK.
“Despite Nigel Farage’s attempts to blame an independent vetting company for his trouble with candidates – it’s clear that the party has serious problems when it comes to candidates.
“This year, 166 candidates have been axed and there are still extreme racists representing the party across the country.”
The Ferret said Reform UK did not respond to a request for comment although The National has reached out to the party.
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