Nigel Farage hit by Zia Yusuf ‘running to replace him’ row on first day of Reform UK main conferenceReform home affairs spokesman Mr Yusuf accused of leadership ambitions after putting out a video on X entitled: ‘This is my story’
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Nicholas Cecil, Chief Reporter @nicholascecil|Luke Reevey2 minutes ago
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Nigel Farage faced a row over his ambitious home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf “running to replace him”.
Multi-millionaire businessman Mr Yusuf is leading the party’s campaign on cutting immigration and tackling the “small boats” Channel crisis.
He is also suspected by some Reform backers of harbouring leadership hopes if Mr Farage were to stand aside.
Home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf speaks during the Reform UK national conferencePA
On the morning of delivering his keynote speech to the party’s annual rally in Birmingham, he posted on X a 3.35 minute clip entitled: “This is my story.”
In it, he speaks about his family, where he grew up, his first job and how he successfully built a business in London employing hundreds of people.
“I always had this sense that if I worked hard, if I did the right thing, then I’d get rewarded in this country, and that turned out to be true,” he explained.
The profile-video is the type often put out by people seeking to become a party leader or win an election and it sparked swift comments on his ambitions.
Tim Montgomerie, the founder of the ConHome website who was recently suspended by Reform, responded to the post, messaging: “The sooner @Nigel_Farage realises this man is running to replace him as leader, the better.”
Mr Yusuf is a controversial figure within the party, having previously resigned as chairman after saying it was “dumb” for new Reform MP Sarah Pochin to call for a burka ban.
He was swiftly reinstated into another key role.
Nigel Farage who faces party funding allegationsAFP/Getty
The latest row erupted as Mr Farage was plunged into his biggest crisis ever after a undercover sting operation targeting him and Reform’s funding.
Labour and other parties called for the Met Police to investigate claims made in a Channel 4 news documentary of alleged breaches of political party funding laws.
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Mr Farage and Reform deny any wrongdoing.
Mr Yusuf later told the Reform UK party faithful, on the first day of its main conference, that he would ensure Britain had “the most secure borders on Earth” as he reiterated his promises on immigration.
He repeated his party’s promises to deploy the Royal Navy to prevent small boat crossings in the Channel and deport anyone who entered the UK illegally.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into the Border Security Command compound in Dover, KentPA Wire
He said: “We will go from having open borders to the most secure borders on Earth.
“We will launch the largest mass deportation operation in modern history, removing every foreign national who entered this country illegally.”
He added: “We will immediately end the early release of violent criminals, rapidly expand our prison capacity and deport all 10,000 foreign criminals currently burdening our prisons.
“And if their own countries refuse to take them, we will send them to serve their sentences in countries like El Salvador.”
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