Farage reprimands Zia Yusuf over ‘traitor’ remark
An explosive row within Reform UK has burst into the open after the party’s leader Nigel Farage publicly slapped down one of his key allies for calling a former Tory defence secretary a “traitor,” reports BritPanorama.
Farage stated that his home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf had gone “over the top” in his attack on Ben Wallace, a former soldier who served in Northern Ireland.
Yusuf had suggested that Wallace should be prosecuted for his role in the arrival of Afghans in Britain after the UK’s withdrawal.
When asked about the “traitor” comment, Farage told The Sun: “That’s too strong a word. I shall give him a ticking off.”
He added, “I’ll speak to him today… it’s over the top.”
The confrontation erupted after Wallace criticized Reform’s new pledge to deport all foreign nationals from Britain’s jails to countries including El Salvador.
In response, Yusuf described it as “incredible that this moron was defence secretary. Our policy today is in direct response to your government’s failures.”
He further suggested that the new policy “may well include some of the thousands of Afghans you imported, including those who had not been vetted properly and including Taliban fighters. You know, the ones you took a super injunction out to keep secret from the British people?”
Yusuf concluded by stating, “That’s why I call you a traitor to Britain. You fit the dictionary definition.” He also posted a poll asking if Wallace should be “prosecuted for treason.”
Tim Montgomerie, a commentator and prominent Reform supporter, criticized Yusuf’s language on X, formerly Twitter: “This isn’t acceptable from Zia… Zia’s language and attitude towards any opponent is inappropriate and counter-productive. Opponents are opponents… they aren’t enemies… or ‘morons.’”
Montgomerie added that “one of the biggest question marks over Nigel Farage’s leadership is whether he brings Zia under control” and noted that Yusuf’s rhetoric reinforces Reform’s “number one problem: our negative tactical voting challenge.”
Labour MP Oliver Ryan also called for Yusuf’s dismissal, stating: “This Reform nonentity calling a former serving Captain in the Scots Guards, and former defence secretary, a ‘traitor to Britain’ is a disgrace. What happened to decency? Zia ought to be sacked from whatever made up Reform job he has.”
As tensions rise within Reform UK, the implications for party unity and strategy remain to be seen.
