UK prime minister Rishi Sunak tells of anger as daughters hear slur by Reform UK canvasser

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has revealed his anger after his daughters were exposed to their father being called a P*** by a Reform UK canvasser.

Andrew Parker was caught using the racial slur while canvassing in ­Clacton, Essex, where his party leader Nigel Farage is standing as an MP in the general election.

Mr Parker, who was filmed as part of an undercover investigation by ­Channel 4 News, said: “I’ve always been a Tory voter. But what annoys me is that f****** P*** we’ve got in. What good is he? You tell me, you know. He’s just wet. F****** useless.”

Mr Parker also said army recruits should use migrants arriving by small boats in Kent as “target practice”, and labelled Islam a “disgusting cult”.

On a campaign visit to a school in Teesside, Mr Sunak told broadcasters: “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign to Nigel Farage calling me an effing P***. It hurts and it makes me angry, and I think he has some questions to answer.”

On his decision to use the word P***, he said: “I do it deliberately and I hate having to do it. I chose my words deliberately. I hate having to repeat it. Absolutely hate it. But I also think it’s important to call this out for what it is and be clear about what it is.”

Asked whether he was frustrated that some former Tory voters are leaning towards Reform UK when their activists are making racist and homophobic comments, he said: “When you see Reform candidates and campaigners seemingly using racist and misogynistic ­language and opinion, seemingly without challenge, I think it tells you something about the culture in the Reform party."

The footage broadcast on Channel 4 on Thursday night also showed another canvasser describe the Pride flag as “degenerate” and suggested members of the LGBT community are paedophiles.

Mr Farage has sought to distance himself from the comments, saying he was “dismayed” by the “appalling sentiments” expressed.

However, after it was revealed that Mr Parker was a part-time actor, the Reform leader suggested the filmed comments were part of a “set-up”. Appearing on ITV’s Loose Women, he said: “It was an act right from the very start.”

Saying Mr Parker had been “rough speaking” and “not being himself”, Mr Farage added: “I have to tell you, this whole thing was a complete and total set-up, I have no doubt about that.”

Asked whether he thought Mr ­Parker had been paid, he said: “I don’t know whether he was paid or not.”

He added: “I’m saying it’s possible, I don’t know. Something is wrong here.”

Channel 4 has strongly denied any suggestions that it paid Mr Parker or anyone else to produce its journalism.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Parker claimed he had made the comments in “the heat of the moment” because he was being “goaded on” and said they were “off-the-cuff”. “Of course I regret what I said,” he added. “Christ, I’m not a racist. I’ve had Muslim girlfriends. It was typical chaps-down-the-pub talk.”

Mr Parker said he had “a lot of Pakistani friends” and “Muslim friends”, and that he was “sick to death” of being asked about the footage, which was only released on Thursday.

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