Reform UK candidate Corey Edwards has stepped down from the Welsh Senedd election campaign after a photograph emerged showing him apparently making a Nazi salute while imitating Adolf Hitler.
The party said Edwards, its lead candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, informed Reform UK Wales that he was standing down from the election in May because of his mental health. A party spokesperson said it wished him well and hoped his privacy would be respected.
What happened
The photograph was published by Nation.Cymru. It showed Edwards raising his right arm, with a finger of his left hand under his nose.
According to the source, Edwards is a former adviser to David TC Davies, the former Conservative Welsh secretary.
Response from Reform UK
The announcement came a day after Nigel Farage publicly defended Edwards. In a television interview, Farage said the image was a Fawlty Towers impression and suggested Edwards may have been copying Basil Fawlty, the John Cleese character.
The source notes that in one episode of the BBC sitcom, Basil Fawlty goose-steps in front of German visitors with a finger under his nose. Farage also said the image looked terrible in isolation and that he would not approve of it.
Related context in the report
The report also said Reform had faced candidate selection problems in Scotland, where four candidates for elections in May either stood down or were suspended within a week of being announced by Farage.