Jake Berry Makes Slip Up While Praising Makerfield Candidate

A senior Reform UK figure was left red-faced on live TV after forgetting the name of the party’s candidate in a crucial by-election.

Jake Berry, the former Tory chairman who defected to Nigel Farage’s party last year, made the embarrassing blunder during a painful interview on on BBC Newsnight.

Reform announced on Tuesday that they had chosen local plumber Robert Kenyon to take on Labour’s Andy Burnham in next month’s Makerfield by-election.

But Berry said: “What is extraordinary about this by-election is you have ‘Robert Jenkins’, a brilliant candidate for Reform…”

“That’s not his name, by the way,” presenter Victoria Derbyshire cut in. “It’s Robert Kenyon.”

“Robert Kenyon, I beg your pardon,” Berry replied after an awkward pause.

Berry also irked presenter Derbyshire as he defended Farage over the £5 million donation he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, just weeks before he abruptly decided to run for parliament.

Farage initially insisted this money was spent on security, then claimed it was a reward for his years of pro-Brexit campaigning.

The Reform leader later said that he paid for his £1.4 million house from his fees for taking part in the reality show, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, rather than the money from Harborne.

Farage is now facing a parliamentary sleaze probe over accusations he failed to properly declare the donation.

Berry sidestepped questions about the issue on Newsnight, instead pointing to the furore around Labour’s current civil war.

Derbyshire said: “So it’s not legitimate for me to be asking you questions about this, is that what you’re saying?”

Berry replied: “It’s stretched credulity to the point of emaciation when we have the very serious story of youth unemployment over 16 –”

“It’s one of many issues, we’re capable of judging many stories over the week,” the Newsnight presenter said.

When Berry attempted to dodge other questions about the donation and start talking about Rishi Sunak’s interest in cryptocurrency, Derbyshire said: “This is deflection on the most obvious scale!”

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