Reform UK apologises for sacking dead York general election candidate for 'inactivity'

Reform UK has apologised after sacking a general election candidate for being "inactive" after he had died.

The party said it was "mortified" it did not know the York Central candidate and RNLI volunteer Tommy Cawkwell had died after he failed to respond to emails and phone calls.

A spokesperson said Mr Cawkwell had been one of 50 candidates who were dropped.

The spokesperson said: "The simple fact is that we have removed upwards of 50 candidates for complete inactivity and I know those who had been removed for disciplinary measures. Mr Cawkwell was clearly not one of those.

"Sadly I was unaware that he had died and I made an assumption based on the knowledge I possessed.

"I am mortified that my lack of care has caused his family pain, and I can only apologise profusely for my mistake. I do not know how to get hold of the family. If I did, I would apologise in person."

Reform UK's leader Richard Tice has previously said the party was looking to stand against every Conservative MP at the next general election, which is expected to be held before the end of the year.

Earlier this year, Lee Anderson became the first sitting MP for the party after defecting from the Conservative Party.

As well as finding a new York Central candidate, it was also looking to replace Julie Wilson, the former candidate for York Outer, who had been dropped by the party.

Other candidates for Reform UK have been dropped for liking posts on X by former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson and former British National Party leader Nick Griffin.

Some had made racist remarks against Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf.

Another candidate made sexist remarks about Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner.

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