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Families who lost loved ones in the Covid pandemic have written to Nigel Farage, after a Byline Times‘ investigation revealed that one of the party’s local election candidates branded the coronavirus crisis a “staged event” and an “operation” led by the US military.
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice have now written to Reform calling on them to remove any candidate found to have “promoted Covid or vaccine conspiracy theories, make clear that it disowns those views, and explain what steps it is taking to root this problem out of the party.”
Writing in the Journal of 9/11 Studies in September last year, David Booth, who is standing for Nigel Farage’s party in Croydon, claimed Covid was a product of “powerful forces” to control the population.
It follows a spate of other recent reports linking Reform candidates to Covid and vaccine conspiracy theories. A professor who claimed the Covid jab was “highly likely” to have caused royal cancers is standing for Reform in Sutton, the Mirror reported over the weekend.
Last year, Professor Angus Dalgleish was quoted as saying he believed Covid vaccines were “a significant factor in the cancer of members of the Royal Family”, echoing comments from the controversial doctor Seema Malhotra who addressed the Reform party conference on the main stage.
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Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice says the “falsehoods are an insult to the people who died from Covid-19” and cause “real pain” to the bereaved, while also putting public health at risk.
On Thursday, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 4 report on vaccines and therapeutics was published, and made clear that Covid-19 vaccination programmes are estimated to have saved 14.4 million lives worldwide in their first year, and more than 450,000 lives in England and Scotland up to March 2023. But it also highlighted the need to tackle misinformation and to rebuild public trust in vaccines.
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice is a campaign made up of more than 7,000 members across the UK who have been bereaved by Covid-19. They successfully campaigned to establish the Covid Inquiry and want to ensure its recommendations lead to change that saves lives “when the next crisis hits.”
Recent reporting has linked a number of Reform candidates to Covid and vaccine conspiracy theories or “sceptic” claims. They include Glenda Hall (backing a Covid conspiracy video), Kenneth Morton (suggesting Covid 19 was a “hoax”), Tim Kelly (claiming the vaccine was “neither safe nor effective”), and Senedd candidate Emma Clatworthy (sharing a Covid conspiracy theory).
Reform UK was contacted for comment. The party did not respond to our previous request for comment about David Booth, though a spokesperson told the outlet MyLondon they were “looking into” it.
A spokesperson for the Covid-19 bereaved families told Byline Times: “It’s increasingly clear that Covid conspiracy theorists have found a home in Reform, and Nigel Farage is allowing them to flourish. These views are a danger to public health. Vaccines saved millions of lives, but misinformation is driving down trust and putting all of us at risk.
“For us bereaved, this is deeply personal. Our loved ones died from Covid, and we deserve answers. With so many Reform candidates embracing conspiracy theories and rejecting the science on vaccines, Nigel Farage’s silence is no longer credible. No party serious about public health should tolerate this.”
The spokesperson called for Farage to “remove the candidates promoting these theories and publicly disown their views.”
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Letter in Full
Dear Nigel Farage, we are writing on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, a group formed by people whose loved ones died from Covid-19 and who have fought ever since for truth, accountability and the changes needed to save lives in future.
More than 230,000 people across the UK died from Covid-19. It is therefore deeply concerning that there is an emerging pattern of Covid and vaccine conspiracy theories among Reform UK candidates in the upcoming local and devolved elections. These falsehoods are an insult to those who died, cause real pain to the bereaved, and put public health at risk. Recent reporting has linked Reform candidates to a series of Covid and vaccine conspiracy claims.
David Booth, standing for Reform in Croydon, was reported to have described Covid-19 as a “staged event” designed by “powerful forces”.
Glenda Hall, a Reform candidate in Sunderland, shared material asking whether Covid was the “hoax of the century”.
Emma Clatworthy, a Reform candidate in Wales, was reported to have shared a claim that people were rushing to get a vaccine that “can kill them”.
Kenneth Morton, a Reform candidate in Scotland, reportedly liked posts describing Covid-19 as “a psychological hoax” treated with a “fake vaccine”.
Reform UK Candidate Claimed COVID Was ‘Pentagon-Led Plot’ in Conspiracy Theory Journal
Exclusive: Reform candidate David Booth is listed as the author of a paper arguing the pandemic was “staged” by Western military and intelligence agencies
These are serious falsehoods about a virus that killed more than 230,000 people in this country, and about vaccines that saved millions of lives.
When people seeking public office promote claims like these, they lend them credibility and put public health at risk.
On Thursday, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry published its Module 4 report on vaccines and therapeutics. The report says Covid-19 vaccination programmes are estimated to have saved 14.4 million lives worldwide in their first year. More than 450,000 lives were saved in England and Scotland up to March 2023.
But it also highlighted the need to tackle misinformation and increase public trust in vaccines. The lies and conspiracy theories peddled by your candidates carry serious consequences. Reform UK should act now.
You should remove any candidate found to have promoted Covid or vaccine conspiracy theories.
You should also make clear that Reform disowns those views and explain what steps you are taking to root out this problem in your party.
You owe that to the public, to the people whose lives were cut short by this virus, and to the loved ones still living with the consequences.
Yours sincerely,
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK
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