Zahawi joins Reform amid disputes over vaccine scepticism

Nadhim Zahawi, the former Conservative chancellor, was unveiled as Reform UK’s newest recruit at a plush Westminster venue on Monday and faced persistent questioning about his role in the Covid vaccine rollout. Reporters pressed him on whether he rejected the views of a doctor who was allowed to use Reform’s conference main stage to claim the Covid vaccines were responsible for King Charles and the Princess of Wales’ cancers.

Zahawi, who served as vaccines minister during the pandemic, told a Daily Telegraph journalist: "That was a really stupid question and it doesn’t even deserve an answer," repeating the line when another reporter asked it again. The party’s chair had previously acknowledged that a vaccine-sceptic doctor had influenced its medical policy.

The recruitment has caused disquiet among members, with Reform Facebook groups reporting a number of resignations and online posts that framed Zahawi’s arrival as a "Muslim takeover" following anger over the unveiling of Laila Cunningham. The party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, has been targeted by some members.

Comments on a private group included: "Another ex-Tory and another Muslim and another that pushed the vaccine, sorry to say but Reform are losing my support rapidly," and "Doesn’t fill me with confidence, the vaccine deployment guy, a man who advocated for an amnesty on illegal migrants." Last month it emerged that a third of Reform’s council leaders across the country have expressed vaccine-sceptic views.

Key Topics

Politics, Nadhim Zahawi, Reform Uk, Vaccine Scepticism, Aseem Malhotra, Nigel Farage