A prominent journalist has accused Nigel Farage of fostering a toxic online environment that emboldens racist attacks against individuals of colour. Sangita Myska, who has extensive experience in British journalism, including roles at the BBC and LBC Radio, made the remarks following allegations against Ian Cooper, a former leader of the Staffordshire council and member of Reform UK. Cooper was expelled from the party after reportedly directing racial slurs at Myska and making derogatory comments about other public figures.
Myska claims that Cooper told her she was English “only in your dreams” due to her south Asian heritage. The former council leader has also faced accusations of referring to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, as a “narcissistic Pakistani” and stating that migrants are “intent on colonising the UK, destroying all that has gone before.” In a previous social media post, he allegedly made disparaging remarks about Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a British-born lawyer and women’s rights activist, suggesting she should “F off back to Nigeria.”
Following Cooper’s expulsion, Sarah Edwards, the Labour Member of Parliament for Tamworth, described the statements as reflecting “deeply disturbing white supremacist views.” Myska indicated that the culture within Reform UK, which she attributes to Farage’s leadership, allows such rhetoric to thrive. “Without a shadow of a doubt, Nigel Farage’s track record emboldens party members and elected councillors to express views that were once considered completely unacceptable in mainstream political discourse,” she stated.
The pressures surrounding Farage have intensified, particularly as a group of his former schoolmates revealed to the Guardian that they had witnessed him engaging in deeply offensive racist and antisemitic behaviour during their time at Dulwich College in southeast London. In response, Farage denied ever expressing racism or antisemitism with malice.
Myska further articulated her concerns, emphasizing that in a typical political climate, a party leader facing such serious accusations would at least step aside pending an investigation. “But Nigel Farage has managed to shift what we consider normal in the UK political environment, and it is dangerous,” she noted. Myska lamented that the position of people of colour in public life in Britain is becoming increasingly challenging, exacerbated by an “unbelievably toxic environment” that has been normalised since the Brexit campaign in 2016.
She expressed that the harassment faced by people of colour in public discourse is pervasive, making it feel like a struggle to maintain a presence on social media. “The reason we have dug our heels in is because we are British. Britain is our home; it’s where we made our lives, and we have no intention of going anywhere,” she asserted.
Myska pointed out that the online hate has intensified in recent years, particularly as immigration—especially the issue of small boats—has dominated political discussions. While she acknowledges that there are legitimate concerns surrounding these topics, she argued that they are often exploited by individuals to target anyone who is not white British, saying, “This guy [Cooper] thinks he’s entitled to attack me in this way, to attack the mayor of London, to attack Dr. Shola… and the antecedent to this can be traced right back to Brexit.”
Despite these allegations, Reform UK has yet to issue a public condemnation of Cooper’s comments. The party did confirm his expulsion following an investigation into his failure to declare certain social media accounts during the candidate vetting process.
