Huge blow for Farage as THREE Reform candidates on leaked BNP list

A Mirror investigation can today expose how Reform candidates are on a leaked British National Party list. Nigel Farage has attacked the BNP’s “racist agenda” and even boasted “a golden rule” is preventing its former activists joining his party . But, in a blow to Reform’s vetting , three of his local election candidates are on a database of members and contacts of the party when led by Nick Griffin. Contacted by the Mirror, Reform said it had booted them out for “failing to declare their previous memberships of an organisation proscribed by the party”. They include a technology sector worker who crowed about “leading international teams” and a roofing firm boss once pictured apparently dressed up as a sheikh clutching monopoly money. It marks another embarrassing episode for Reform, after it emerged only last year how the party had told members it was bringing in less stringent vetting. Our joint probe with anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate (HnH) cross-referenced names on a BNP “membership and contacts” list leaked online in 2008. HnH’s director of research Joe Mulhall said: “The party has always been quick to push back against being labelled ‘far right’ yet recent weeks have once again shown the party is still riddled with extremists. "These new revelations will be embarrassing for Reform as Nigel Farage has previously said that former BNP activists are not welcome in his party, calling it a ‘golden rule’ of his. Their decision to quickly expel these three candidates is welcome but it makes their refusal to do the same to the other candidates recently exposed for racism and extremism all the more telling.” It comes as Griffin, BNP’s leader from 1999-2014, appeared in court this month to deny stirring up racial hatred with a cartoon shared on social media. Farage has argued that he drove the far right BNP – which had dozens of councillors in the late noughties – “out as an electoral force”. "Ironically, destroying the BNP means people who are minded that way don't any longer have a home to go to, and so some will gravitate in our direction," he said in 2024. He added that "anybody who has a racist point of view, I don't want to know". Meanwhile, last year he said: “I do not allow former BNP activists into this party. That’s a golden rule.” And in 2014 ahead of a by-election, the then UKIP leader wrote: “No one has done more to damage the BNP than me. I hope… we can pretty much finish them for good.” But our probe shows one-time BNP supporters have made their way into the ranks of Farage’s party. When the BNP leak emerged in late 2008, it was reported it was thought the list may also include lapsed members, as well as details of those who had expressed an interest in joining but not signed up. One of those on the leaked list is George Parnell, from Hampshire, standing as a county candidate for Fleet Town as well as for Hart District Council. The 57-year-old, who works in the technology sector, told voters he is “committed to protecting Fleet’s character for future generations”. Approached by the Mirror at his Fleet home, Parnell – described as an “activist” on the leaked list – gave a conflicting version of events. He initially conceded he “might have become a member” of the BNP – before changing his story. Asked whether he was a supporter of the BNP at any time, Parnell said: “No, I don’t support the BNP.” Pressed on whether he had previously been a supporter, he replied: “So I’ll be perfectly honest with you, because you’re right, honesty is the most important thing. That goes back… a very long way. I did look into them. I was a bit naive at the time. Found out that, actually, what they said on the face of the thing came across as some things that some people might, sort of, be OK with but when you look a bit deeper into the sort of the underlying undertones… I didn’t agree with it. And that’s why I stepped away from that because that’s not what… my sort of thinking or ideology at all.” He said he supported the BNP for “a momentary time”, adding: “A week… I might have become a member, signed up for a week, realised, actually, what did I sign up for? This isn’t what I support and binned it and didn’t think more of it.” But he then backtracked, claiming he did not sign up – saying he “withdrew it”. He added: “I didn’t become a member.” Parnell said he was “never” an activist, denying doing any campaigning. Despite saying the opposite earlier, Parnell went on to allege he had never supported the BNP. Another whose name and address is on the BNP database is John Black, 55, standing in Blackburn, Lancashire, for Reform. The wannabe councillor told the Mirror he had never been a BNP member. Asked to explain why he was named on the leaked list, he replied: “I have no idea.” Meanwhile, David Prior, standing in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, was billed as someone who “understands the challenges small businesses face”. Reform’s campaigning literature added of Prior: “Having lived and worked here his entire life, he is committed to standing up for the local enterprises that keep our area thriving. He’ll fight for fair support, real investment, and a council that works for us all.” Confronted by the Mirror over his BNP membership – first reported by the Jewish News – the 55-year-old roofing firm boss admitted: “I made a mistake a lot of years ago… when I found out what they were all about I didn’t want anything else to do with them.” Last year, it was reported Reform had told members it was bringing in a less stringent “common sense” vetting system for potential candidates. Weeks ago, Farage defended Reform’s vetting, claiming “sometimes people lie”. This month, the Mirror has exposed a series of Reform candidates including one for being an Oswald Mosley fan. In another case, we told how a Reform candidate who once met the King had made “stomach-churning” anti-Muslim rants. And a one-time Reform activist visited by Farage at his tanning salon was revealed to have written vile pro-Hitler posts. A Reform UK spokesman said: "Mr Parnell, Mr Prior and Mr Black have been expelled from Reform UK after failing to declare their previous memberships of an organisation proscribed by the party."