By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
Reform UK faced fresh questions on Thursday night over its candidate vetting.
An undercover ITV investigation found a staff member admitting: 'The philosophy is generally like, 'Are they a f***ing lunatic?' You know what I mean? Is it going to cause problems with the Press?'
And one candidate said he was rejected twice after showing support for far-Right activist Tommy Robinson, only to be invited back into the fold to stand in an election he nearly won.
The new revelations, broadcast last night, came just hours after party leader Nigel Farage denied Reform had a problem with vetting, despite three councillors leaving over racist, sexist and violent language exposed in the first excerpts from the documentary, set to air in full on Sunday.
He told the BBC on Thursday: 'We vet to a much higher standard than the other parties.'
But Mr Farage admitted that, though the party can look at candidates' CVs and social media, 'I can't predict what they're going to say after a drink, when they're being provoked or egged on to say something'.
The vetting officer who talked of weeding out the lunatics told the undercover reporter: 'S*** happens, nothing's perfect. I had to turn down a convicted rapist the other day. I caught that one.'
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage recently denied his party had a problem with vetting its staff
One Reform UK candidate said he was rejected twice after showing support for far-Right activist Tommy Robinson (pictured) - but was later invited back to stand in an election he nearly won
And former candidate Alex Lomas, filmed while campaigning in the Makerfield by-election in Greater Manchester, said he was first rejected by Reform for swearing too much online and posting abusive comments about Sir Keir Starmer.
He said he had then been turned away for sharing Tommy Robinson posts, saying: 'Too far-Right.' But Mr Lomas claimed that he was called back by the party a few days later and told he had passed vetting.
He explained: 'They needed someone to stand. Because they basically just wanted to say, we are standing a candidate in every single ward in Oldham.'
Mr Lomas went on to secure 1,015 votes, just 200 behind the winning Labour candidate.
Reform's first female MP also faces embarrassment after being recorded complaining about the men in the party.
Sarah Pochin was told that a woman was starting work in the press office and replied: 'Oh, thank f*** for that. They are so f***ing chauvinistic.
'They just exclude you if you're a woman. It's really tough being a girl with all of this alpha male s*** going on.'