Reform UK Activist Suspended Amid Controversial Social Media Posts
A Reform UK activist involved in campaigning ahead of Thursday's Gorton and Denton by-election has been suspended following the emergence of racist and antisemitic comments he made on social media.
For several days, Reform UK declined to confirm whether Adam Mitula, serving as an interim campaign manager in the Tameside area, had been suspended from the party. Mitula himself confirmed the suspension on Monday.
The suspension followed the publication of evidence suggesting Mitula posted a highly offensive racial slur targeting Black people and made derogatory remarks about Jewish women. Additionally, he appeared to agree with a Holocaust denier who claimed that the number of Jewish people murdered by the Nazis had been exaggerated. Mitula has stated that his comments were taken out of context.
Disciplinary Process
Mitula asserted that he was defending the Jewish community in his remarks.
The allegations against him were based on information collected by the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, apparently sourced from his now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) account.
"I'm confirming my suspension as a Reform member pending investigation.
The comments in question were taken out of context, and actually defended the Jewish community."
Regarding the racial slur directed at Black people, Mitula later stated he had "no comment" to offer.
Reform UK issued a statement saying:
"With regard to Adam Mitula, our disciplinary process is confidential and we do not provide a running commentary on any potential cases that are being considered."
The Gorton and Denton by-election covers an electorate of more than 76,000 potential voters across Denton in Tameside, and Gorton, Levenshulme, and Burnage in Manchester.
A comprehensive list of candidates and their brief manifestos is available here.
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