Reform Party / X
Richard Tice has welcomed an apology from the BBC after the national broadcaster referred to his party as being on the “far-right”.
The Reform UK leader issued a statement after the Beeb backtracked on descriptions used in their reporting of Lee Anderson’s defection to the party which came after the Ashfield MP was suspended from the Conservative Party over ‘Islamists’ comments.
Anderson became Reform UK’s first MP after he refused to apologise for comments aimed at Sadiq Khan, which led to him being shown the door by the Tory Party.
He told GB News that “Islamists” had “got control” of the mayor of London in comments which Khan described as “pouring fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”.
Reporting on Anderson’s high-profile switch, the BBC dubbed Reform UK as a “far-right” party, a description they have since apologised for using.
Issuing a statement on the BBC apology, Tice said:
“The BBC has apologised for the news website referring to Reform UK as ‘Far Right’ following an intervention from my lawyers.
“My lawyers are also in touch with other news organisations who repeated the BBC line.
“To be clear, I view this as defamatory and libellous”.
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