Zia Yusuf slams BBC bias in Nazi salute row | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Zia Yusuf has lashed out at BBC bias after a Reform UK candidate was photographed showing to strike a Nazi salute. He mentioned the celebration has taken motion after the “abhorrent” incident and that of one other candidate branding the previous First Minister Humza Yousaf an “Islamist moron”.

Reform’s Scottish chief, Malcolm Offord, has stood by his Holyrood candidates after previous social media posts emerged. Linda Holt, the candidate for Fife North East, described former First Minister Humza Yousaf as a “grandstanding Islamist moron” and mentioned he was “not British” though he was born in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Corey Edwards, who was a Reform UK candidate for the upcoming Senedd election in Wales, stood down, citing his psychological well being, after photographs of him showing to strike a Nazi salute emerged on-line.

Reform UK’s new house affairs spokesman was requested on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg about Reform’s vetting of candidates after “one of them branded the former First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, an Islamist moron, another candidate made offensive comments aimed at the Jewish community, and another was photographed doing a Nazi salute”.

Put to him that Nigel Farage mentioned final 12 months that Reform’s vetting course of would enhance, Mr Yusuf mentioned: “Obviously, all of that’s abhorrent and the party’s taken action on that.

“Reform has vetted over 8,000 candidates over the last couple of years.

“Even if our success rate is 99.9%, a handful will slip through.

“But I want to make a very important point actually on vetting and how these things are covered, because yes, of course, it’s reasonable to hold Reform to account, but what consistently happens is the BBC pounces on every single Reform mishap, and gives it vastly disproportionate coverage in your news cycles, and completely ignores the far more voluminous misdemeanours and frankly, egregious things that people from other parties say.”

He claimed antisemitic feedback made by Green Party councillors had not been reported by the BBC.

The BBC has been approached to remark.