There was no shortage of ammunition for reporters seeking too pepper nadhim Zahawi with questions when the former Conservative chancellor was unveiled as Reform’s newest recruit on Monday.but one persistent line of questioning seemed to draw a flash of real anger from the defector: did he reject the views of a doctor who was permitted by reform to use the main stage at its annual conference to claim that the Covid vaccines, which Zahawi had himself rolled out as vaccines minister during the pandemic, were responsible for King Charles and the Princess of Wales’ cancers?
Would he seek to change Reform’s medical policies if they had been influenced, as the party’s chair previously admitted, by the same vaccine-sceptic doctor?
“That was a really stupid question and it doesn’t even deserve an answer,” zahawi told a Daily Telegraph journalist, repeating the line when another reporter asked it again.
Yet, away from the plush Westminster venue which Reform had chosen for Zahawi’s unveiling, his recruitment has caused disquiet among Reform UK members for whom hostility to the Covid vaccine program has become an article of faith.
party Facebook groups lit up with a small but notable number of members saying they would be resigning their membership.
Combined with this, a strand of Islamophobia in the party’s membership again reared its head.Fresh from their anger at the unveiling of Laila Cunningham as Reform’s London mayoral candidate, Zahawi’s recruitment was cast by some of the same vaccine sceptics as another example of a “Muslim takeover” of Nigel farage’s party.
Its head of policy, Zia Yusuf, has long been a target of racist ire from some Reform members and critics of the party on the right.
“Another ex-Tory and another muslim and another that pushed the vaccine, sorry to say but Reform are losing my support rapidly,” posted one member on a private Reform Facebook group, in response to Zahawi’s defection.
The comment, on a group with 135,000 members including key figures in the party, was just one of many in a similar vein across it and other online spaces used by reform members.
“Doesn’t fill me with confidence, the vaccine deployment guy, a man who advocated for an amnesty on illegal migrants,” added another.
Another added: “yes gonna be loads of us thinking same Especially us with badly disabled son caused by jib [sic] pushed by him.”
While Farage initially provided qualified support for vaccines during the pandemic, he later shifted to a more sceptical view, and then towards hostility to the World Health Institution.
Here’s a breakdown of the key points from the provided text, presented as neutral information without replicating the source’s phrasing or structure:
* Reform UK and Vaccine Debate: The Reform UK party is experiencing internal disagreement regarding vaccine policy. This stems from a recent conference appearance by a cardiologist, Aseem Malhotra, who made claims linking the Covid vaccine to health issues, including within the royal family.
* Malhotra’s Role: Malhotra has advised a US health secretary known for vaccine skepticism and was presented by a party chair as influential in shaping Reform UK’s health policy.
* New Member Disagreement: A recently defected councillor, Dr. Chandra kanneganti, a public health expert with experience in medical associations, publicly disagrees with Malhotra’s views and intends to advocate for evidence-based health policies within the party. He actively promoted vaccination during the pandemic.
* Zahawi’s Position: Nadhim Zahawi, a recent defector to Reform UK who previously oversaw the UK’s vaccine programme, has not clarified whether he received assurances regarding the party’s stance on vaccines. Though, he stated his agreement with the importance of the vaccine rollout.
* Party Response: A party representative attempted to downplay concerns about Zahawi’s involvement, clarifying that he doesn’t hold a formal role and that the party leadership’s position on compulsory vaccination remains unchanged.
* supporter Concerns: some existing supporters have expressed disappointment and uncertainty about Zahawi’s defection given his past role in promoting vaccination.
