Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was ‘a total fool’
A Reform UK canvasser who used a racial slur against Rishi Sunak has called himself a “total fool” and said he has learned his lesson.
Footage from an undercover Channel 4 reporter showed Reform campaigner Andrew Parker using a discriminatory term about the prime minister, as well as saying the army should “just shoot” migrants crossing the Channel.
Election latest: Farage on defensive after supporters caught making racist, homophobic remarks
Police are now assessing the comments to establish if an offence has been committed, while Mr Sunak said the insult directed at him “hurts and it makes me angry”.
Mr Parker, who was canvassing in Clacton, where Reform leader Nigel Farage is standing, told Sky News the sting operation had “proper taught me a lesson”.
He said: “There’s lots of old people like me who are sick to death of this woke agenda… but on that particular day, I was set up and set up good and proper.
“It’s proper taught me a lesson – I was a total fool.”
Pressed on his use of the racial slur, he said he was an “old man” and “I still use old words”.
“There’s no racism at all in it. I am a decent guy to be honest”, he added.
In the Channel 4 report, Mr Parker can be heard using offensive language about the prime minister and also discussing migrants arriving in small boats in Deal, Kent
He said: “Army recruitment – get the young recruits there, with guns, on the f****** beach, target practice. F****** just shoot them.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sunak ‘hurt’ over Reform race row
He also described Islam as a “disgusting cult”.
Mr Farage said he was “dismayed” by the “appalling” comments and has sought to distance himself from the campaigner, saying he was simply “someone who turned up to help” and “has nothing to do with the party”.
He has also used reports Mr Parker was a part-time actor to suggest the incriminating film was a “total set-up” – something Channel 4 has strongly denied.
Mr Parker himself says his volunteering for Reform was separate from his acting job – and claims he was “goaded” into making the comments.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself.
Farage has tried to distance himself from the comments
“We met Mr Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.
“We did not pay the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else in this report. Mr Parker was not known to Channel 4 News and was filmed covertly via the undercover operation.”
The broadcaster’s investigation also caught another canvasser describing the Pride flag as “degenerate” and suggesting members of the LGBT community are paedophiles.
A spokesman for Essex Police said the force is “urgently assessing” the comments “to establish if there are any criminal offences”.
PM ‘hurt and angry’ over racial slur
Mr Sunak reacted furiously to the comments and said Mr Farage had “some questions to answer”.
He said: “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing P***. It hurts and it makes me angry and I think he has some questions to answer.
“And I don’t repeat those words lightly. I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is.
Read more:
Major Tory donor defects to Reform
Brexiteer Steve Baker to try replacing Sunak
“As prime minister, but more importantly as a father of two young girls, it’s my duty to call out this corrosive and divisive behaviour.”
Unrepentant Farage doubles down
However, Mr Farage was unrepentant when grilled on the row during a BBC Question Time leaders’ special, saying he was “not going to apologise” for the actions of people associated with his party.
Reform UK has faced a series of controversies relating to election candidates saying offensive or racist things.
Asked why his party “attracts racists and extremists”, the former UKIP leader claimed he had “done more to drive the far right out of British politics than anybody else alive” – claiming he took on the British Nationalist Party (BNP) a decade ago.
He also appeared to throw his predecessor Richard Tice under the bus when read racist and xenophobic comments made by Reform candidates, saying he “inherited a start up party” and has “no idea” why the people who said those things had been selected.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The other candidates in Clacton are:
- Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labour;
- Matthew Bensilum, Liberal Democrat;
- Craig Jamieson, Climate Party;
- Tony Mack, Independent;
- Natasha Osben, Green Party;
- Tasos Papanastasiou, Heritage Party;
- Andrew Pemberton, UK Independence Party;
- Giles Watling, Conservative.
The US Labor Department has officially rescinded guidance issued during the Biden administration that limited the inclusion of cryptocurrency in 401(k) retirement plans.
On May 28, the Labor Department revoked a 2022 guidance that had urged fiduciaries to be “extremely cautious” when considering cryptocurrency for 401(k) retirement plans. The move could give asset managers more flexibility to include digital assets in retirement investment options.
The government agency removed the guidance asserting that it represented a departure from the department’s “historically neutral, principled-based approach to fiduciary investment decisions.”
“We’re rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats,” said US Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
The Labor Department under Biden criticized the practice of marketing cryptocurrencies to 401(k) participants. At the time, the agency claimed cryptocurrencies posed “significant risks and challenges” to participants’ retirement accounts due to their “speculative and volatile” nature and “valuation concerns,” among other reasons.
The American Banking Association (ABA) criticized the 2022 compliance release, claiming that it did not make the guidance available for public comment and review prior to issuance.
Related: Fidelity introduces retirement accounts with minimal-fee crypto investing
Trump administration shifts crypto landscape
President Trump has pledged to make the United States “the world capital of crypto” during his 2024 campaign.
Under his administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission has scaled back several enforcement actions and investigations involving Web3 companies such as Uniswap, Coinbase, and Kraken, while also engaging in policy discussions on topics like real-world asset tokenization and the regulatory status of certain tokens.
At the same time, some lawmakers have expressed concerns about Trump’s involvement in the crypto space, including calls for greater scrutiny of his associated ventures.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Bilal Bin Saqib, head of Pakistan’s crypto council, announced on May 28 that the country is moving to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saqib said the government of Pakistan followed the United States’ lead in establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve and is embracing pro-crypto regulatory policies. The government official told the audience:
“Today is a very historic day. Today, I announce the Pakistani government is setting up its own government-led Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and we want to thank the United States of America again because we were inspired by them.”
The announcement represents a significant departure from the government of Pakistan’s previous stance on cryptocurrencies, holding that crypto would never be legal in the country.
Pakistan’s shift reflects the broader trend of nation-states adopting pro-crypto policies following the regulatory shift in Washington, DC under the President Donald Trump administration.
Related: Pakistan appoints special assistant to PM on blockchain and crypto
United States Vice President JD Vance took the stage to deliver a keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, encouraging Bitcoiners to deepen their involvement in politics.
Vance highlighted the strategic and geopolitical importance of Bitcoin, emphasizing that the US should maintain leadership in the crypto industry to remain competitive in the age of digital finance. Vance told the audience:
“What happens in the world of politics, what happens in the world of bureaucracy, will affect even the most transformational and valuable technologies if we do not make the right decisions. The first thing that I would ask you, is to take the momentum of your political involvement in 2024 and carry it forward to 2026 and beyond.”
“Don’t ignore politics because I guarantee you, my friends, politics is not going to ignore this community, not now, and not in the future,” the vice president continued.
Bitcoin continues to gain institutional legitimacy and has been elevated to an asset class with macroeconomic and geopolitical importance. Market analysts and Bitcoin advocates warn that the global race to acquire BTC is underway between sovereign powers.
Related: Crypto czar Sacks says US could possibly ‘acquire more Bitcoin’
Nation-state Bitcoin adoption
Bitcoin maximalists and market analysts argue that high-stakes game theory compels nation-states to adopt BTC due to the downside or opportunity cost of not adopting the scarce digital asset as sovereign competitors do.
This alleged nation-state’s fear of missing out (FOMO) was amplified by US President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, including the creation of a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a crypto advisory council.
The regulatory shift in the United States prompted other governments to indicate a possible policy reset on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin.
The government of India, for instance, is reconsidering its crypto policies in response to regulatory changes in the US. India’s economic affairs secretary, Ajay Seth, said that digital assets do not care about borders.
Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway