Farage has questions to answer over racist volunteer, says ‘hurt and angry’ Sunak

Rishi Sunak has said Nigel Farage has questions to answer over the Reform UK race row after admitting a racial slur made against him by a canvasser had left him “hurt and angry”.

Speaking on a campaign visit to a school in Teesside, the Prime Minister said racist comments made by Andrew Parker, a Reform UK campaigner volunteer, during undercover filming should be “called out” by the party’s leader.

Channel 4 News broadcast footage of Mr Parker making racially derogatory remarks about Mr Sunak, who is of Indian descent, as well as suggesting British soldiers should use migrants arriving from France on small boats as “target practice”.

In a direct intervention in the row, Mr Sunak 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. 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.”

Asked whether he was frustrated that some former Tory voters are leaning towards Reform UK when their activists are making racist and homophobic comments, Mr Sunak said: “When you see Reform candidates and campaigners seemingly using racist and misogynistic language and opinion, seemingly without challenge, I think it tells you something about the culture in the Reform party.”

The Prime Minister’s intervention came after Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, claimed Mr Parker was part of a “set-up”. Appearing on ITV’s Loose Women, he said: “It was an act right from the very start.”

He said that Mr Parker had been “rough speaking” and “not being himself”. Mr Farage added: “I have to tell you, this whole thing was a complete and total set-up, I have no doubt about that.”

Asked whether he thought Mr Parker had been paid, he said: “I don’t know whether he was paid or not.”

He added: “I’m saying it’s possible, I don’t know. Something is wrong here.”

It appears Mr Parker is an actor who has appeared in a number of films and television adverts. The Channel 4 News undercover report, broadcast on Thursday, said he was a property developer, but Mr Parker on Friday admitted he was also a part-time actor. He lists “secret filming” among his skills.

While being interviewed on Talk TV on Friday morning, Isabel Oakeshott, the political commentator and columnist, said she had a “sensational new twist” that the man filmed in the undercover sting “may be” an actor.

She said: “He [Andrew Parker] bears a remarkable resemblance to an actor whose details can be quite easily found on the internet [using] software recognition… when you compare the footage you can use software recognition that gives a 99.9 per cent confidence rate that they are the same people.”

When approached by The Telegraph shortly afterwards, Mr Parker insisted he was not an actor and had not appeared in any films or adverts or had a profile on an agency website.

An agency website shows a man of a similar age and appearance, with videos of him speaking with “received pronunciation” and a “rough voice”.

There are also promotional pictures of the actor posing as a football supporter, a Middle Eastern character and an engineer.

By mid-afternoon Mr Parker admitted he was an actor.

“Of course I regret what I said. Christ, I’m not a racist,” he said. “I’ve had Muslim girlfriends. It was typical chaps-down-the-pub talk.”

Mr Parker added his comments were “off-the-cuff things that everyone says” before insisting that he had “a lot of Pakistani friends” and “Muslim friends”, and that he was “sick to death” of being asked about the footage.

He told The Telegraph: “I do part-time acting.”

Mr Parker said he does have an online agency profile and had “been in loads of things”.

On one agency profile, he writes: “I am 61 years old, I started acting when I was 12 years old and I spent three years studying at the Rhodes Acting School which was run by Jean Stenning.

“I act for enjoyment and not for the pay packet at the end of the day and I if I accept a job you can be rest assured I give it my best.”

Nigel Farage later suggested people who espoused racist or homophobic views had been attracted to Reform UK because the British National Party (BNP) no longer existed.

Asked why such people supported his party, he said: “Ironically, I think because we destroyed the BNP, they haven’t got the BNP to go to any more.”

He added that there were “right across the political spectrum people saying things they jolly well shouldn’t say”, and that “far-Left extremists go to the Labour Party”.

An Essex Police spokesman said the force is “urgently assessing” the comments “to establish if there are any criminal offences”.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: “We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself.

“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.”