A Reform UK mayoral candidate who said David Lammy should “go home to the Caribbean” has suggested that at least eight other politicians from minority ethnic backgrounds do not have a primary loyalty towards the UK.
Nigel Farage’s party has so far refused to condemn Chris Parry, a retired naval rear admiral who has been picked to contest the now-postponed Hampshire and the Solent mayoral election for the party, over his comment about Lammy, the deputy prime minister.
In a post in February, referring to a news story about the UK government supposedly considering talks about reparations for slavery – which ministers have in fact rejected – Parry is said to have written: “Lammy must go home to the Caribbean where his loyalty lies.”
Labour said the emergence of the other comments, all made since May this year, showed Reform had to act swiftly, saying he was “dragging his party further into the gutter”.
The bulk of the comments by Parry, all made on X, involve him quote-retweeting posts by others about the politicians, some originating from far-right or openly anti-Islam accounts.
In May he highlighted footage showing Anas Sarwar, the leader of Labour in Scotland, speaking at a 2022 event celebrating the 75th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence, writing: “So many people in @UKLabour don’t owe their primary loyalty to Britain.”
The next month, commenting about footage showing the Labour MP Naz Shah taking her parliamentary oath using the Qur’an, he wrote: “That’s OK, if she commits blasphemy by betraying the British people and demonstrating primary loyalty to another country.”
The same month he said of Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland: “His first loyalty is not to any country in the UK.”
In October, when the former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who now represents Your Party, tweeted about a journalist’s comment that she should be deported, Parry said: “It’s because your first loyalty is not to the British people. Nothing to do with your religion or background. We don’t trust you to defend our interests.”
In a post about footage showing Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, and the MP Dawn Butler, attending a Jamaica-themed party at the Labour conference, hosted by Butler, Parry said: “You really have to wonder where people’s primary loyalty lies.”
In a recent post on X the mayoral candidate commented about a media interview in which Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, discussed her Muslim faith, adding: “Doesn’t her religion require her to show loyalty to her fellow Muslims before any country? Genuine question.”
Another post was about Kaukab Stewart, the Scottish equalities minister, in which Parry said: “Clearly her primary loyalty is not to Britain or Scotland.”
Parry also questioned Lammy’s loyalty to the UK on another occasion, again when he was foreign secretary. Commenting about a news story on policy towards the navy, he said: “This is what happens when you have someone whose primary loyalty is not to the UK as foreign secretary.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, Reform’s deputy leader said he had seen this post and seemed to indicate that such sentiments could be viewed as an acceptable part of political debate. He said: “At the end of the day, David Lammy is a cabinet minister. Whether we think he’s doing a good or bad job is just part of politics. That’s day-to-day life. He will, I’m sure, continue to claim he’s doing a great job. We challenge him.”
Anna Turley, the Labour chair, said Farage “needed to throw Chris Parry out of Reform UK and drop him as a candidate nearly two weeks ago”.
She added: “The fact he didn’t shows he’s willing to turn a blind eye to racism in his party’s senior ranks. It’s falls far below the standards the public expect of political leaders.
“The fact Farage has failed to take any action against Chris Parry despite his first racist comments being exposed 12 days ago shows what a weak leader he is. He is dragging his party further into the gutter and is unfit for high office.”
Reform was contacted for comment.
