Top Conservative Party member James Cleverly has distanced himself from a controversial statement made by party chairman Kevin Hollinrake, who compared Reform UK to Hitler’s Nazis. Despite Kemi Badenoch dismissing it as a joke, Cleverly criticized Hollinrake’s post, calling it inappropriate and causing public outrage. Hollinrake, who took over as party chairman in July, shared an image of a Swastika badge in response to a post by the Reform party leader, which he later deleted but followed up by sharing a link about the badge.

In an interview with Times Radio, Cleverly expressed disapproval of Hollinrake’s actions, stating that the post did not effectively convey the intended message. He highlighted Reform’s past leader in Wales being imprisoned for accepting Russian bribes to promote Russian propaganda, suggesting that the party is plagued by scandal.

Cleverly also criticized Nigel Farage for not investigating Russian influence within Reform, labeling it unacceptable behavior for a party leader. The recent imprisonment of Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, for accepting Russian bribes further fueled the controversy.

Following the incident, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended Hollinrake’s actions as a joke, citing Reform’s online behavior towards other politicians. Despite deleting the image, Hollinrake shared a link to a Wikipedia page about the badge, sparking outrage within Reform circles.

Farage retaliated, implying that the controversy could benefit Reform UK in the upcoming election. Reform advisor Alan Mendoza, a former Tory member, criticized Hollinrake’s comparison as a disgraceful and baseless attack. Tory MP Suella Braverman condemned the comparison as wrong and irresponsible, emphasizing that Hollinrake’s views did not represent her own.

A Tory spokesperson accused Reform of focusing more on social media than addressing the scandal involving their leader in Wales and their proposed policies. In response, a Reform source criticized the Conservative Party for equating Reform supporters to Nazis, highlighting a deteriorating political discourse.

Hollinrake’s subsequent post linking to information about the Golden Party Badge awarded by Hitler sparked further controversy. Reform’s policy chief Zia Yusuf predicted that the incident would damage Badenoch and Robert Jenrick’s chances of retaining their seats, as the issue is likely to be heavily publicized during the election campaign.