Elham Asaad Buaras
Reform UK is facing renewed scrutiny after one of its newly appointed special advisers was linked to a series of alleged racist and anti-Muslim social media posts, raising fresh questions about the party’s vetting procedures during the 2026 Senedd (Wales) election campaign.
Derek Roberts, who withdrew as a Reform candidate just weeks before the Senedd election on May 7, has since been appointed as a special adviser to Reform politician Gaz Thomas.
The appointment has attracted attention because Roberts stepped down from the election race amid concerns surrounding a Facebook account allegedly linked to him that reportedly contained racist, anti-Muslim and inflammatory posts spanning several years.
Roberts was selected in March as Reform UK’s second candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, covering parts of Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan. However, later that month he withdrew from the contest. The party said at the time that he had stepped down for “personal reasons”.
Reports circulating during the campaign suggested that concerns had been raised internally over the social media account, prompting a review before Roberts was removed from the candidate list.
Despite those concerns, Roberts was subsequently appointed to a senior advisory role after the election, with his position confirmed in late May after Reform established its Senedd team.
Had he remained a candidate, Roberts would have been in a position to become a Member of the Senedd.
The social media activity under scrutiny is said to date from 2022 to 2025 and allegedly includes racist language, derogatory comments about Pakistanis and Muslims, attacks on ethnic minority politicians, support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson and calls for violence against pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Among the posts highlighted by critics was a March 2024 comment about funding for mosque security in which Roberts allegedly wrote: “Money to protect Mosques!! Why the hell is this happening? We never had issues with religion on our soil before until Muslims came here!” before describing the situation as “absolutely disgusting”.
Other posts reportedly targeted ethnic minority communities. In one comment concerning Pakistani residents in Bradford, Roberts allegedly asked: “Why are these people in our country?” while another post concerning Labour MP Kanishka Narayan appeared to suggest that the politician’s ethnicity was a reason not to vote for him.
The account is also alleged to have shared a post about a pro-Palestinian march in London calling for “machine guns” and an order to “open fire” on demonstrators.
In February 2023, Roberts allegedly posted: “Scotland please don’t let a Muslim be in charge of a political party in your Celtic country!”
A further post in April 2023 concerning Scotland’s then First Minister Humza Yousaf reportedly described him in derogatory terms and included the phrase “Remember white white white”.
Posts concerning Welsh political figures allegedly contained discriminatory comments relating to religion and sexuality, while another reportedly blamed London’s “Muslim mayor” for knife crime and suggested such violence was normal in Muslim countries.
In February 2025, Roberts is also alleged to have shared an image of a mosque with a red cross placed over it.
One of the most recent posts under scrutiny was published in August 2024 and reportedly stated: “I absolutely hate the PM … and I absolutely detest the Islamic way of life.”
Another post reportedly mocked Muslims by claiming: “The Muslims are like kids in a playground!” in reference to consumer boycotts.
The revelations have intensified scrutiny of Reform UK’s candidate selection and vetting processes, particularly after a number of candidates either withdrew or were removed during the 2026 campaign.
A source familiar with internal discussions described the case as evidence of a “serious vetting problem”, questioning how such material was not identified before Roberts was selected to stand for election.
