Who are the 'Brexit badboys' tipped to replace Zia Yusuf as Reform UK turmoil deepens
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, Mr Tice said: "I think it is right that we should have a debate about whether or not the burka is appropriate for a nation that's founded in Christianity, where women are equal citizens and should not be viewed as second class citizens."
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Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Reform's Zia Yusuf grilled over MP with mug mocking Keir Starmer in hijab
Last week Zia Yusuf described a question by Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin as "dumb" and quit as party chairman - before returning to the party's ranks just 48 hours later Reform UK's ex-chairman Zia Yusuf has been confronted over one of the party's MPs holding a mug showing Keir Starmer in a hijab. The image of the newly elected Reform MP Sarah Pochin - shared by the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate - was posted by LBC last week. It shows a mocked-up image of the Prime Minister in a headscarf used by Muslim women alongside the words "Two Tier Keir". Just last week Ms Pochin called on Mr Starmer to ban the burka - used to cover the face and body - in a move that caused chaos in Reform UK's ranks. Nigel Farage's party distanced itself from the question, confirming that a burka ban is "not party policy". They added there needs to be a "national debate" about it. But Zia Yusuf described the question by Ms Pochin as "dumb" and quit as party chairman last week - before returning to the party's ranks just 48 hours later. Pressed on the image of the MP holding the mug - portraying the PM in a hijab - Mr Yusuf claimed on the BBC Radio 4's Today that Ms Pochin is an "incredible MP". Last week Georgie Laming from Hope Not Hate said: 'This photo and Pochin's comments this week show her extreme anti-Muslim prejudice. The image on the mug has been shared widely in far right circles by extreme figures who use the image to suggest Labour is complicit in the islamification of Britain." But Mr Yusuf said: "I was instrumental in selecting her... I think she's a phenomenal asset to the party and the House of Commons." Quizzed on whether he was "comfortable" with the image, he said: "It's obvious she's laughing. I know Sarah incredibly well. I consider her a very close friend. So yes, I know who Sarah is." Defending the MP, he went on: "I think some of the things that are being characterised about a photo in the context of probably tens of thousands of photos that have been taken of her are complete mischaracterisation". During the interview, Mr Yusuf also said he regretted describing the MP's question to Mr Starmer on a burka ban last week as "dumb". Asked whether he stood by his view, he said: "The first thing I would say is I regret that tweet. "But let me be clear about what I meant by that. The question was asked in the House of Commons by Sarah who is a brilliant MP and then it was also made clear that would not be party policy. That's all I was stating, I was reflecting the party's position." He added: "To some degree I made this a bit of a storm in a teacup because I was exhausted." Ms Pochin has been contacted for comment.
The National
a day ago
- The National
Richard Tice in row with Laura Kuenssberg over Anas Sarwar comments
The deputy leader of Reform UK doubled down on his party's recent attack advert against Scottish Labour, which has been widely condemned as "racist", during the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme. The political advert, which was seen by more than one million people on Facebook, falsely claimed that Sarwar would 'prioritise the Pakistani community'. READ MORE: Scottish Government urges Chancellor to drop 'damaging' cuts ahead of spending review The ad includes selected clips from a video spread by far and alt-right agitators on social media in a bid to claim that Europe was under threat from 'multiculturalism' and mass immigration, specifically of Muslims. While it has been branded "racist" by both the SNP and Scottish Labour, Farage doubled down and went on to tell a press conference in London that Sarwar had "introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics". During the programme on Sunday, Kuenssberg asked Tice about his party leader's comments, saying: "Your leader Nigel Farage claimed that the Muslim Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar had said that he would prioritise the Pakistani community. "He did not use those words. Was Nigel Farage's claim false?" Tice refused to be drawn on whether the claim was false, as he said: "No, look, what we would talk about was that actually, the Labour leader in Scotland was essentially sort of developing sectarian politics, and we called that out. "We had the Scottish by-election and we came within 750 people of winning it. "So the ridiculous claims made by the other main politicians in Scotland about us, frankly, the voters have just ignored, and we came within a whisker of an absolute shock, a seismic shock. Richard Tice "We got 26%, it was a three-way marginal, and I think Scottish politics is changing." Reform UK came third in Thursday's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, with their candidate Ross Lambie winning 7088 votes. The party won 26.2% of the vote share but were 1471 votes away from beating Scottish Labour's Davy Russell, not 750 votes as Tice – who was at the count – claimed on Sunday. Tice went on: "We had a very simple slogan that seemed to work. 'Drill, Scotland, drill'. The oil and gas industry generates huge prosperity for Scotland, for the United Kingdom, and we should be embracing it and enhancing it, not shutting it down, which the Labour Government has essentially followed what the Tories did before with the ridiculous windfall tax." Kuenssberg returned to Farage's claims about the Scottish Labour leader, as she asked: "Do you not think it's important to say things that are true in politics? "Mr Farage claimed that Anas Sarwar had used words that he simply did not. He made a false claim on a sensitive issue. Was he wrong to do that?" Tice then doubled down on his party's claims about Sarwar bringing in sectarianism into Scottish politics. "No, look, it is sensitive, you're right," he said. "But was it right for Mr Sarwar to claim that Pakistanis and the South Asian community should, for example, dominate and dictate the Scottish educational agenda?" READ MORE: The Supreme Court's sex ruling faces legal challenges – will they succeed? Kuenssberg interrupted: "My question to you is whether or not it was right for Mr Farage to make a false claim about words Anas Sarwar did not use?" Tice said: "Well, you can interpret. I think in the overall context it was not a false claim. "It was what Mr Sarwar was doing, which was bringing sectarian politics into Scottish politics. And that is wrong, that's not how we do things." First Minister John Swinney said at the time that Farage had "brought racism and hatred" into the by-election campaign, as the SNP submitted a formal complaint to Meta, Facebook's parent company. Meanwhile, Sarwar branded Farage a "poisonous man who doesn't understand Scotland". Scottish Labour have been contacted for comment.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Home Office plans to spend £2.2bn of foreign aid on asylum support this year
The Home Office plans to spend about £2.2 billion of foreign aid to support asylum seekers this financial year, according to new figures. The amount of overseas development assistance (ODA) budgeted by the Home Office – which is largely used to cover accommodation costs such as hotels for asylum seekers – is slightly less than the £2.3 billion it spent in 2024/25. International rules allow countries to count first-year costs of supporting refugees as overseas development assistance (ODA). The figures, first reported by the BBC, were published in recent days on the Home Office website. The Home Office said it is 'urgently taking action to restore order and reduce costs' which will cut the amount spent to support asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. It also said it was expected to have saved £500 million in asylum support costs in the last financial year, and that this had saved £200 million in ODA which had been passed back to the Treasury. A total of 32,345 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March this year. This figure is down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently. They are housed in hotels if there is not enough space in accommodation provided by local authorities or other organisations. Labour has previously said it is 'committed to end the use of asylum hotels over time', adding that under the previous Conservative government at one stage 'more than 400 hotels were in use and almost £9 million per day was being spent'. Jo White, chairwoman of the Red Wall group of Labour MPs, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday: 'We need to be looking at things like ECHR article eight. I don't think anything's off the table … including looking at new options such as processing abroad. 'So, we have to be open to see how we can move move that backlog as quickly as possible. I'm getting impatient. 'I know my colleagues in parliament are getting impatient and we're pressing the Government as hard as we can on this.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We inherited an asylum system under exceptional pressure and are urgently taking action to restore order and reduce costs. 'This will ultimately reduce the amount of official development assistance spent to support asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. 'We are immediately speeding up decisions and increasing returns so that we can end the use of hotels and save the taxpayer £4 billion by 2026. 'The Rwanda scheme also wasted £700 million to remove just four volunteers – instead, we have surged removals to nearly 30,000 since the election, are giving law enforcement new counter-terror style powers, and increasing intelligence sharing through our Border Security Command to tackle the heart of the issue, vile people-smuggling gangs.'
