Over 2-3 June, Microsoft workers with No Azure for Apartheid have led protests and disruptions on land, sea, and air, of the flagship annual Build conference. It’s the third year in a row that they’ve protested Microsoft’s participation in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.

The disruptions protested the sale of cloud and AI technologies to the Israeli military and government to fuel occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine and the war in Iran and Lebanon.

On Tuesday 2 June, the first day of the conference, protesters held a rally and speaker programme starting at 8am Pacific Time, outside of Fort Mason, where the conference was taking place. Participants at the rally chanted and chalked messages calling for a Free Palestine and for Microsoft to cut ties with Israel.

Later, starting at 11am, a plane commissioned by No Azure for Apartheid and Eko Movement began circling above the venue, trailing a banner that read “MSFT powers genocide.” The plane flew for two hours, visible to conference attendees.

A group of protesters reconvened at a public hill adjacent to the venue at 12.30pm, where they hoisted a banner reading “Microsoft powers genocide” and “cut ties with Israel now.” Protesters chanted “Microsoft you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “say it loud, say it clear, Microsoft is a war profiteer.”

On Wednesday 3 June, the second day of the conference, No Azure for Apartheid and community members took to the water in kayaks to once again disrupt the conference. At around 8.15am, protesters in kayaks waved Palestinian flags and were heard throughout the venue chanting “Microsoft have some shame.” The kayaks paddled away starting at 9am, chanting “Microsoft you will learn, in our millions we’ll return!”

Microsoft’s violent security

Consistent with past actions, Microsoft security responded with violence, intimidation, and repression. On 2 June, while holding a banner calling out Microsoft’s crimes overlooking Fort Mason, former Microsoft worker Patrick Fort, who resigned in protest in November 2025 after disrupting the keynote speech at Microsoft’s Ignite conference, was approached then shoved by Microsoft security.

Despite being the ones to assault Patrick, security falsely claimed to police that the protesters initiated physical contact. Patrick was detained following these lies, but was later released after it became clear the security account was false. Protesters then continued hoisting their banner and chanting.

Meanwhile, on 3 June, as former Microsoft worker Abdo Mohamed, who got the sack in October 2024 for organising a vigil for Palestine, was giving a speech on the water, Microsoft attempted to drown him out by raising the volume of the music playing in the outdoor venue.

This did not stop conference attendees from taking notice of the protest on the water, with many capturing photos and videos.

Despite both silencing attempts, workers with No Azure for Apartheid made it clear that no violence or repression will intimidate them or stop them from protesting Microsoft.

Repeated protests against Microsoft Build

Protests targeting Microsoft for its complicity in genocide expanded beyond San Francisco. At Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, street art appeared at the NE 40th St exit off of SR 520 headed east, reading “FREE PALI” and “MSFT: DROP ISRL”.

The recent protests on June 2-3 are the latest in a series of actions spanning two years. Microsoft workers are leading the campaign to pressure Microsoft to cancel its contracts with the Israeli military, including conference disruptions and employee protests.

No Azure for Apartheid is continuing its unrelenting pressure on Microsoft to permanently cut all ties with the Israeli military by protesting Build for the third year in a row.

During last year’s Build, held over four days in Seattle, No Azure for Apartheid organised protests every single day of the conference, including disrupting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address and holding a march through downtown Seattle to the Seattle Convention Center.

This year, Microsoft has chosen to move Build to San Francisco and shorten the conference to two days.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

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In an alleged attempt to prevent antisemitism, a new review conducted by the government’s independent adviser Lord Mann has made several recommendations to the NHS.

This potential censorship attempt raises concerns about our personal freedoms, including people’s right to show support for Palestinians. For instance, one of those recommendations is to ban NHS staff from wearing ‘political’ badges such as those linked to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

However, these badges are arguably not political, but an expression of basic humanity. They signal the wearer’s objection to mass killing and Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. That campaign has mutilated, murdered and maimed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children.

Furthermore, among countless rights abuses and flagrant war crimes committed by Israel with British made bombs and bullets, Zionist military forces bombed numerous hospitals in Gaza.

Surely NHS staff have an inherent right to stand by the abuses against Gaza’s health workers… Many Palestinian health workers have been held hostage by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) under politicised charges.

As is typical, this recommendation has been applauded by right-wing pundits, who now want to also see rainbow lanyards banned also.

NHS staff should be banned from wearing pro-Palestinian badges, report recommends.

Good. About time. When did ANYONE think it was acceptable for NHS staff to wear ANY political insignia while at work? While we're at it, can we ban rainbow lanyards too? https://t.co/romwTCuxWB

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— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) June 4, 2026

Uniforms to be banned at protests

According to the review and its supporters, NHS workers having a small pin on their uniform symbolising their solidarity with the suffering of Palestinians is antisemitic. Apparently, this practice puts Jewish people off from accessing healthcare.

One Jewish A&E doctor has told the BBC that seeing colleagues wearing these badges made her uncomfortable, saying:

The public should have trust in healthcare professionals and if you express political opinions, it can undermine that trust.

However, it’s hard to understand how having a problem with the illegal bombardment and brutalisation of Palestinian people can detract from an NHS doctor’s ability to be trusted. The reality is decision makers in the NHS can’t be trusted, and have persecuted doctors who have stood in opposition to genocide.

Standing against human rights abuses makes a person, especially a doctor, far more trustworthy. Yet some continue to whine that wearing a pin should be a sackable offence.

All staff working in the public sector should be banned from wearing any form of political badge or lanyard. It should be a sackable offence.https://t.co/uCsY3qN6Il

— Hadrian (@HadrianAD122) June 4, 2026

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NHS clampdown threatens staff freedom

Moreover, Lord Mann’s review recommends banning NHS staff from wearing their uniforms at protests. It has become clear that this proposal seeks to distance the NHS from any public opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza. The ban would prevent our own healthcare workers from visibly associating their professional identity with ‘political,’ humanitarian causes.

From that perspective, the recommendation does not simply impose workplace neutrality; it seeks to prioritise the comfort of those who support or defend Zionist Israel and its genocide. This is done over the ability of NHS staff to express solidarity with Palestinians and draw attention to the tens of thousands of deaths. The policy also ignores the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Nevertheless, these proposals appear to influence beyond healthcare workers and their right to express opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza. In addition, discussions since about extending similar restrictions to other workplaces and public-facing services suggest a broader, sinister effort. This effort aims to limit visible political expression among UK citizens.

But history shows that censorship rarely arrives all at once. Instead, the powers that be introduce restrictions incrementally, normalising each new limitation before advancing on to the next. It surely then follows that Lord Mann’s review risks laying the groundwork for further attacks on our freedom of speech and expression in the UK.

New guidelines proposed for NHS England say staff shouldn’t wear political badges/symbols. That's a recommendation from Lord Mann whose led a review to tackle antisemitism. So whether you work at the NHS, a bank or a cafe – should you be allowed to take your politics into work? pic.twitter.com/EsjQoDN5fC

— BBC Radio Scotland (@BBCRadioScot) June 4, 2026

A race to the bottom

The UK heath secretary James Murray has stated that the government would accept the recommendations in full:

I know that Jewish people – and everyone experiencing discrimination – need action not words.

Together with NHS England, we will waste no time in setting these recommendations in motion to build a health service that lives up to its values.

A spokesperson for the Jewish Medical Association has welcomed the recommendations, saying:

We would support the banning of political symbols including flags and symbols of any country. We wouldn’t want it to be discriminatory in any way.

Finally, the chief executive of NHS England has also accepted Lord Mann’s recommendations, telling the BBC:

We accept all of the recommendations in Lord Mann’s review and as a leadership community, we will act swiftly to implement them.

The NHS at its best is a place of compassion, care and unity – not conflict – and there is unacceptable antisemitism and racism in the NHS, faced by both our staff and our patients and we must root this out.

Of course, society must absolutely condemn and guard against antisemitism. It remains a dangerous, hateful form of prejudice affecting Jewish communities across the country. As a result, the emerging hierarchy of racism in the UK has tended to give it disproportionate attention. It has been labelled prematurely with little evidence to support, weaponised to shutdown criticism of Israel.

At a time when Muslims, Jews and Christians — alongside non-faith people — stand in solidarity against the oppression and genocide enforced by Israel on Palestinians, moves to ban symbols which speak to humanity runs counter to progressive principles.

Source: Community Security Trust

Simultaneous to the rise in antisemitism in the UK cited by the BBC, which has seen an almost 200% rise at times since 2023 – when the genocide started – there has also been a 377% increase in Islamophobic incidents. Alarmingly, the Muslim community in the UK represents 45% of all recorded religious hate crimes.

Freedoms under threat — this is only the start

Therefore, this surely highlights how the conflation of Zionism with Judaism has increased the prevalence of antisemitism arguably by Zionist design. For instance, some more ignorant Britons have shown they do not distinguish between the murderous actions of Israel and its insistence that it represents ‘all Jews’.

Further, the astronomical increase in Islamophobic incidents – often resulting in rape, violence or even murder – underscores how dangerous it is to treat genocide as if it is a debatable, disputable political issue. The reality is that Zionism is a danger to us all. This includes Jewish people.

The sustained participation of many Jewish people in peace protests in London and across the country provides further evidence of this distinction. After all, many Jewish people do not see pro-Palestinian activism as a threat. Instead, they view opposition to Zionism as essential to their own safety and freedoms.

Freedoms which appear to be under great threat right now in the UK, as it seeks to provide comfort for Zionists – rather than solidarity and remedial efforts to stop the mass murder of innocent men, women, children and babies.

Featured image via Thomas Krych / ZUMA Press Wire

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Disabled models will travel the runway at Aviva Studios on Saturday 27 June 2026 ahead of Disability Pride Month.

The most inclusive fashion show that’s ever been staged in Manchester is coming to the city ahead of Disability Awareness Month.

Sixteen models – female, non binary and male – will travel down a specially constructed runway at Manchester’s Aviva Studios.

Aged from 20s-50s, every model is disabled, neurodivergent or chronically ill and all will wear adaptive fashion designs from a young, ambitious Manchester label. Manchester Metropolitan University fashion graduate Ellie Brown founded RECONDITION in 2025.

Brown’s eyes opened to how unaccommodating fashion can be in 2021, when she badly broke her ankle. This resulted in her using a wheelchair for several months. Each garment in RECONDITION’s denim-centred collection has been designed with and for disabled people.

Adaptations built into the label’s inclusive designs include:

• Front pockets on jeans for wheelchair users.
• Ring pull zips for people with reduced dexterity.
• Sleeves with poppers along their full length to help accommodate prosthetic limbs or medical equipment, from feeding tubes to insulin pumps.

Brown’s Manchester city centre based company now works alongside a co-design group who all have varying lived experience of disability. This ensures that her designs truly do the job, whether that’s:

• Accommodating stoma bags.
• Providing comfort and practicality for wheelchair users.
• Offering an easier “on and off” experience for people with reduced grip strength or dexterity.

‘Disability Pride Catwalk’ will show ‘accessible fashion is fashion for all’

Aaliyah Rice, 24, from Bury, Greater Manchester, is one of the models taking part. Diagnosed with ADHD aged 21, the advertising creative signed up after seeing an open casting call on TikTok. She said she thought it would be:

such a fun experience and a chance to meet like-minded people.

Rice added:

Mainstream fashion on a whole is entirely unaccommodating even for an able-bodied person. Things like sizing and fit are generally a nightmare. I can only imagine the extra layer of hell having a physical disability brings to clothes shopping.

My own personal experience is with clothes that give me sensory issues – things like tags, textures and seams that cause me distress and take my focus away from other things.

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It makes it more challenging to shop, as most of the clothes that don’t cause me sensory issues aren’t fashionable or stylish and when you don’t feel confident you can’t embrace life the way you want.

I’m a strong believer that accessible fashion is fashion for all.

The label’s first catwalk collection includes the popular dark blue denim Reconditioned Jean, which is already on sale and debuts a number of new adaptive designs. These include a denim miniskirt, a dress, a jumpsuit, a top and a further new cut of jeans.

Research from disability charity Leonard Cheshire found that mainstream fashion in the UK does not meet the needs of three quarters of disabled people.

According to government figures, a quarter of people in the UK have a disability – that’s 16.8 million people. And in state pension aged people, the figure rises to almost half (45%).

Brown says that RECONDITION’s first major catwalk show, called Disability Pride Catwalk: A Space for Each Other, is “part performance, part social commentary”, and will:

reflect on who fashion is for, how access is built (or denied) and what it means to create space collectively.

The purpose-built runway at Aviva Studios features a double height bar, which is inclusive to wheelchair users and people of short stature and acts as a metaphor for how the built environment enables or disables people.

Brown said:

The Disability Pride Catwalk is a safe space for people to celebrate bodies of all kinds whilst enjoying the atmosphere and experience of a runway show.

I also hope the event will provoke useful discussions about how fashion – and society as a whole – can take more accountability for inclusivity.

Disability Pride Catwalk: A Space for Each Other

Saturday 27 June 2026 6-8pm

The Undercroft, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ

FREE

Featured image supplied

By The Canary

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Although the 2026 World Cup will go down in history as the biggest edition ever, featuring 48 teams and co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the tournament’s expanded format has not been enough to guarantee the presence of all the world’s football stars.

Whilst fans prepare to follow an unprecedented edition in terms of the number of teams and matches, qualifiers, injuries and tactical choices have shaped another side of the World Cup: the absence of names that have played a significant part in the game’s landscape in recent years.

Whilst the tournament has opened its doors to new teams and rising stars, it has closed the door on a number of stars who were hoping to write a new chapter in their international careers, or perhaps make a final appearance on the world’s biggest football stage.

World Cup: stars on the outs

Absence from the World Cup is not down to a single reason: some have paid the price for their national team’s failure to qualify, despite their status among the world’s elite players; others have been sidelined by injury at a particularly cruel time; whilst still others find themselves left out due to technical decisions dictated by competition for the limited places in the final squads.

But the outcome remains the same: big stars will be watching the World Cup from the sidelines.

Lewandowski… a last chance lost

At the forefront of the names missing from the finals is Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, the Barcelona striker and one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation.

The 2026 World Cup represented a precious opportunity for the veteran player to embark on a new global stage, perhaps the last of his international career, but Poland’s failure to reach the finals ended that dream prematurely.

Kvaratskhelia and Szoboszlai… the absence of a new generation

The absences will not be limited to veteran stars, as the World Cup will also miss one of the most exciting players in Europe in recent years, the Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, after his national team failed to secure a place.

Hungary’s Dominik Szoboszlai, captain of the Hungarian national team and a Liverpool star, will also be absent, meaning the World Cup will lose one of the most prominent midfielders of his generation, a player whose influence in European football has been on the rise.

Italy… the open wound

Perhaps the most painful story remains linked to Italy, which continues to be absent from the World Cup finals, a situation that is hard to fathom given the Azzurri’s history and standing among the game’s elite.

Italy’s absence means a host of star names will be missing from the tournament, led by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of the world’s finest keepers, thus continuing the crisis of a team that has won the World Cup four times but now finds itself once again on the sidelines.

Nigeria Deprives the World Cup of a Formidable Striking Duo

On the African continent, Nigeria’s failure to qualify has left a clear mark on the list of absentees.

The World Cup will take place without Victor Osimhen, one of the most effective strikers in European football, as well as Ademola Lookman, who has established himself in recent seasons as one of the continent’s leading attacking players.

Their absence deprives the tournament of a duo possessing speed, decisiveness and the ability to make a difference, whilst adding a new chapter to the disappointment of Nigerian fans, who are accustomed to seeing their national team feature regularly at the World Cup.

When injury decides the fate of a dream

The list of absentees was not limited to those who missed out in the qualifiers, as injuries proved a decisive factor in preventing a number of players from taking part in the tournament.

“Al-Kanari” had previously highlighted in a report a list of stars who would be denied a place at the 2026 World Cup due to injury, including Brazil’s Rodrigo, Germany’s Serge Gnabry, the Netherlands’ Xavi Simons, and Frenchman Hugo Ekitike, alongside other names who have faced the harshest scenario a footballer can encounter just a few months before the start of the global event.

These cases confirm that the road to the World Cup does not end with qualification alone, but may be decided by minor physical details capable of ending a dream a player has waited years to realise.

Featured image via Getty/David Balogh

By Alaa Shamali

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Palestinian footballer Natalie Abu Dayeh wasn’t preparing for a match or a training camp this time. She was sitting at her university homework in the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, before Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed her home and took her into custody, leaving behind the lecture notes and pen she had been writing with just minutes before the raid.

A scene documented by the Palestinian Football Association in an official statement, but it was not the only incident in recent hours. Shortly afterwards, the occupation authorities arrested Palestinian women’s national team player Rand Halawani (20), after summoning her to what is known as the “Tel Beit” police station in occupied Jerusalem.

Palestinian athletes regularly abducted

These two consecutive incidents have brought back into the spotlight Israel’s deliberate targeting of Palestinian athletes, a practice that is not limited to sporting competitions or international matches, but extends to the daily lives of male and female players off the pitch.

The Palestinian Football Association said that Abu Dayya, a player for the women’s national team and a student in the Media Department at Birzeit University, was arrested after her home was raided, whilst Halawani’s arrest came just hours later, indicating the ongoing persecution of Palestinian athletes across the Palestinian territories.

These incidents do not appear to be isolated from a broader context. Earlier, Musab Abu Salem, a player for the Palestine Stars team, was prevented from travelling to Italy to take part in a solidarity match against the Napoli Stars, after the occupation authorities stopped him at the Karama crossing and subjected him to questioning before issuing a decision barring him from leaving the Palestinian territories.

Israel impunity

This follows the genocidal crimes in which Israel targeted all sectors of sport during the war on Gaza, killing over 1,000 people – including players, coaches and referees – and destroying all sports grounds and facilities.

Between arrests and travel bans, Palestinian complaints are mounting regarding the restrictions faced by athletes, whether in terms of movement and travel or participation in international events.

The Palestinian Football Association emphasises that these practices do not target specific individuals so much as they undermine the ability of Palestinian sport to continue and participate in international forums.

Featured image via Getty/Abid Katib

By Alaa Shamali

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In one of the most dramatic moments of the Real Madrid presidential race, candidate Enrique Riquelme stole the limelight after appearing in a television interview holding up Erling Haaland’s shirt in front of the cameras. The scene quickly became a key talking point in his election campaign, and sparked widespread debate about the scale of the promises being made in the race for the presidency of Real Madrid.

The moment was not merely a visual spectacle; it was accompanied by a direct statement from Riquelme, in which he confirmed that signing Haaland would be one of his priorities should he win the Real Madrid presidency, as part of a vision to attract the elite names in European football to bolster the team’s attacking strength.

Real Madrid chaos

This move placed Haaland’s name at the heart of the election campaign early on, turning him into one of the key talking points in Riquelme’s message to the club’s supporters, in a contest that goes beyond the administrative to a race for the highest sporting ambitions.

In parallel with this, Rodri’s name was also mentioned within the same electoral scenarios; however, the momentum surrounding Haaland remained the most prominent theme in the messages directed at Real Madrid fans throughout the campaign.

However, Manchester City are now said to be considering legal action. A club spokesperson said:

The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue.

There is no chance of this happening and there is no contractual clause to enable it.

We are considering legal action for the use of our player image in this context.

The image quickly spread across social media platforms, where followers shared it widely, and it also garnered significant engagement across a number of prominent sports accounts, including the “El Chiringuito” account on x, which helped to increase interest in the comments and turn them into one of the most prominent talking points in the election landscape within Real Madrid.

Featured image via Getty/Angel Martinez

By Alaa Shamali

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Nigel Farage has recently defended his call for “pure cold rage” in reaction to responding officers’ treatment of murder victim Henry Nowak. Worse still, he’s doubled down on his race-baiting, claiming that there’s worse yet to come. 

Meanwhile, the Times has been doing all it can to tow the Reform leader’s party line. The right-wing rag has managed to dig up a Hampshire Police diversity training day questionnaire, reporting on the pigs feeling “pressured” and “controlled”, as if that’s somehow connected to them ignoring Nowak as he bled to death.

Back in the real world, the president of the National Black Police Association has warned that Farage’s rhetoric is in danger of setting policing back decades.

Farage promises ‘just the beginning’

In a Times Radio interview, Farage defended his call for “pure, cold rage”. He argued that:

I used that term very, very deliberately… I suggested that rage was put in a cold way, not a hot way.

What a precise instruction, delivered to charmers destroying a local community by chucking bins around.

And, Farage also claimed that the white riots in Southampton are “just the beginning”. He said:

large numbers of young white males think the police are prejudiced against them. 

That would be because the Reform leader told them as much. Farage stood in front of a camera and bleated that Nowak’s treatment was a result of “anti-white prejudice”. He stated, without choking on his words, that the UK is a “two-tier system” that disadvantages white people.

As the Canary previously highlighted, Farage knew that his words would start a riot. Back in 2024, he was one of the figures throwing around the ‘two-tier policing’ rubbish which sparked the white riots during that period of time.

In a similar vein, at the time we also stated that the compliant corporate media aids and abets far-right politicians and hatemongers in stoking up racial tensions in these scenarios. However, what the Times is currently doing is far, far worse.

The Times parrots Farage’s tripe

On 4 June, the Times published an article titled:

Officers in force that failed Nowak ‘pressured’ by diversity course

This followed Farage’s attack line, attempting to blame DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives for so-called “anti-white prejudice”. The article reported that:

Police officers in the force that failed Henry Nowak felt “controlled and pressured” during diversity training, it has emerged.

An evaluation of a day-long Hampshire Police course titled Inclusion Matters found that more than one in seven officers experienced pressure “to be certain ways” during the training.

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The course covered topics including racism, unconscious bias, privilege and “the importance of being an ally”.

The cops complained that being told about their privilege made them feel pressure to “be a certain way”, did they? Would that ‘certain way’ be ‘less racist’, by any chance?

Note the Times’ feeble attempt at a deception here. The right-wing rag has seized on a questionnaire response to a police diversity training day where a few cops complained. It makes absolutely no mention of when this training took place.

However, the article expects readers to connect that diversity training to officers ignoring a white man saying he’s been stabbed. Even if the training told the pigs to take claims of racialised abuse more seriously, nobody genuinely believes that extends to ‘ignore a white man when he says he can’t breathe’.

But then, the Times isn’t looking for genuine belief. All it needs is its readers’ knee-jerk, unthinking anger. It needs blind hatred directed at the very concept of equality initiatives – just like far-right darling Farage wants.

‘There is a danger of policing going back’

Meanwhile, for those of us still concerned with fact, the police force’s extensive and well-documented history of systematic racism hasn’t gone anywhere. That ‘systematic’ bit is important. It’s a long-lasting, widespread and ongoing pattern, not a single instance of officers getting it badly wrong, as in Henry Nowak’s case.

In fact, the president of the National Black Police Association – chief inspector Andy George – has raised the alarm of Farage’s dangerous race-baiting. George warned that:

There is a danger of policing going back to a time long before Stephen Lawrence’s murder, to the 1960s and 1970s, because of the attacks from the far right which have been growing over the past few years, and which are becoming more mainstream.

Likewise, ex-chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke – who stepped down back in April – has stated outright that he saw no evidence of ‘anti-white bias’ during his tenure. Given that he’s a white cop, and a Tory appointee at that, we’re going to believe that he looked for it, too. Cook said:

Throughout my five years at the inspectorate, I found no evidence at all to support any claim there was an anti-white bias in operational policing. […]

This should be a period of time where politicians respect the family’s wishes and do not try to exploit such a tragic and painful situation to boost their political fortunes.

Instead, the former chief inspector accused Farage and his ilk of trying to “boost their political fortunes” by exploiting the Nowak case.

Nowak’s parents stated explicitly they didn’t want their son’s murder to be “used to create further division”. Farage and his lot don’t care. They’re working actively to reverse even fragile steps toward racial equality across the UK, and there’s no line they won’t cross, no cause they won’t exploit, in order to do so. 

Featured image via Getty/Dan Kitwood

By Alex/Rose Cocker

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Yet another prominent Reform UK party figure in Wales has been exposed over hateful rhetoric shared online repeatedly, especially targeted at Islam or Muslim-majority populations.

Derek Roberts’ social media account is full of racist and anti-Muslim bigotry, much targeted at Pakistanis. This included posts targeted at Scottish (briefly) First Minister Humza Yousaf and other high-profile figures he deemed sympathetic — i.e. not outwardly hateful — towards Muslims or Islam.

He also publicly supported Tommy ‘Fake-Name’ Robinson online. Farage’s Reform have previously, albeit unconvincingly, attempted to distance themselves from the violent, far-right Islamophobic criminal.

Roberts stood down as a Senedd candidate in May’s Welsh elections but is now employed as a special adviser (spad) by Reform’s Gas Thomas. Roberts was originally announced as second-place candidate for Reform in Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, spanning Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan.

Upon Roberts unexpectedly quitting, Reform cited “personal reasons.” However, as BBC Wales wrote:

A source close to Reform UK told the BBC that prior to Roberts quitting, concerns were raised about a Facebook account in his name.

This comes after another Welsh Reform spad stood down following the emergence of Hitler salute photos previously shared on social media — complete with finger-moustache.

Tommy Robinson inflames white riot as thugs throw Nazi salutes

Repeated, vile online anti-Muslim hatred

BBC Wales was shown dozens of offensive Facebook posts featuring vile, inflammatory language from an account in Roberts’ name, between 2022 and 2025.

Among the vitriolic posts shared online from Roberts’ account were:

• Various racist jokes in 2022 about floods in Pakistan, including racist slurs about Pakistanis.
• At least one post in 2022 expressing support for far-right activist ‘Tommy Robinson’. After referring to the “Pakistani community” in derogatory, sweary terms, the post stated: “Come on Tommy!”
• One post in 2023 criticising the ethnic background of a Plaid Cymru councillor.
• Referring to Muslim Scottish leader Humza Yousaf, two separate posts in 2023 which said:
  

  “Scotland please don’t let a Muslim be in charge of a political party in your Celtic country!”

  “At last this vile man is getting kicked out of Scottish government! Remember one thing you were NOT elected by the Scottish people the same as the PM and the Welsh FM!
  

  “Remember White, White, White.”

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• Another post, in 2023’s Welsh Labour leadership contest, referring to Jeremy Miles pictured to the right of Welsh Labour politicians Eluned Morgan and Vaughan Gething, stating:
  

  “Let’s face it, the guy on the right won’t get it unless he is gay or a Muslim.”

• Another post from 2024 which read, somewhat bizarrely:
  

  “I absolutely hate the PM [Keir Starmer]… and I absolutely detest the Islamic way of life!”

Reform refused to comment to the BBC on “internal hiring processes” or whether they disputed this story.

When ‘vetting problems’ become party problems

None of this should surprise readers. It’s not the first time Reform candidates and politicians have been accused of hateful, Islamophobic, racist or similarly bigoted messaging. It won’t be the last.

Yet every time this happens, one common question emerges, as with the BBC’s article. It’s always a matter of
‘How did this so-and-so get through party vetting? Does Reform even have party vetting?’

See, for example, Makerfield by-election candidate Rob Kenyon’s online admissions “I am sexist” and obscenities about Carol Vorderman. Or, as the BBC point out, Corey Edwards, who also stood down from the same constituency list after a photo emerged of him appearing to perform a Nazi salute. The latter is now also employed as a Welsh Reform spad alongside Roberts.

There comes a point, however, where you need to stop asking about party vetting. We all know that Reform has the political donations and so resources to do serious vetting if they wish to.

But they don’t want to vet for racism and sexism — that’s the entire point. They want to normalise it. Letting a few misogynists and ethno-nationalists through the door is the political objective. And then some more.

We need to stop worrying about Reform’s internal ‘failings’ on due process and start worrying about what they’re successfully letting through. It’s blatant racism, misogyny, transphobia and general bigotry. Their obvious objective is to legitimise all this and the Islamophobia that they’ve been reported for.

It’s time to recognise that these “vetting problems” are just Reform party problems.

Nigel Farage, Rupert Lowe, and Kemi Badenoch squabble over race to the bottom

Featured image via the Canary

By Cameron Baillie

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Robert Kenyon is Reform UK’s candidate in the crucial Makerfield by-election. As we’ve reported, Kenyon has made a number of comments he’s struggled to defend, including that he’s a “sexist.” This is partly because his views are indefensible, and partly because he can barely string a sentence together.

The lad does have a strategy for dealing with hard questions, though, and it’s to run away:

Reform UK’s #Makerfield Candidate @RobKenyonReform can’t answer a simple question.

This isn’t new politics, it’s dodging simple questions.

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Share far and wide! pic.twitter.com/HqSnKM6Y5c

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) June 4, 2026

Oh, and by ‘hard questions’, we basically mean ‘any questions.’

Run, Rob run

In the video above, Beth Rigby of Sky News approaches Kenyon, who is standing to the side of his van with an umbrella. Robert Kenyon’s willingness to be pictured with an umbrella demonstrates he’s something of a modern misogynist, because one of the old guard would never be seen dead with such a contraption – especially not when walking the short distance from the van to the office. Don’t believe us? This is from the Telegraph in 2014:

Umbrellas annoy me. I’ve always thought that umbrellas were inherently unmanly. As undignified in a man’s hand as they are in his cocktail. I think slightly less of a man if I see him using an umbrella. I know, I know: it’s my problem, not his. He’s just trying to stay dry. But why is he so obsessed with this precious dryness? And is an umbrella really the best way? What’s wrong with a hat, a waterproof jacket, waiting for the downpour to pass or, hell, just getting wet?

Britain is a ridiculous country full of wet and angry, Reform-curious, men, and it always has been. Back to the video, Rigby asks Robert Kenyon:

Why should women in Makerfield vote for you, Rob?

It’s a good question, because Robert Kenyon has also said things like this:

Reproductive rights? Women’s rights? They can dress it up all they want, they are deciding to kill a baby inside the womb…What they mean is they want to shag anyone they want and if they get caught they get a second chance and treat it [sic] as a secondary last chance form of contraception. They ain’t kidding anyone.

And this:

I’d hazard a guess that the majority [of abortions] are for vanity purposes like unwanted pregnancies.

“Vanity,” he said. The reality is women want to be able to choose when they bring a life into the world; not that they’re worried their favourite dress might not fit.

On the topic of vanity, Ribert Kenyon clearly isn’t someone who cares about how he looks or sounds to other people. As the Guardian reported:

In 2021, Kenyon responded to a social media post about [Carol] Vorderman in which another user wrote: “My god I’d love to smell and lick your arsehole”, by saying: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking”.

A man with pride in how he comes across would not have said this in public.

Divisive Reform

In response to Rigby, Kenyon responded:

If you speak to the Press Office.

He didn’t expand on what would happen if she spoke to them, so Rigby pressed on:

Why should women in Makerfield vote for you, Rob, when you said you were a sexist? Why should women vote for you when you said that you were sexist and that they can’t drive?

As we reported previously, Kenyon was a reservist in the Army Reserves. Despite his party suggesting otherwise, Robert Kenyon never actually deployed anywhere. Given the way he fled the scene with nothing to show for it, though, you’d be mistaken for thinking he served in Afghanistan.

There’s no doubt an audience for Robert Kenyon’s brand of umbrella-owning misogyny — the problem is that audience probably doesn’t include women — i.e. the majority gender in the UK.

Featured image via the Canary

By Willem Moore

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