- Rupert Matthews, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland, has defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK.
- Mr Matthews is known for writing books on paranormal subjects, including ghost sightings, UFOs, and cryptozoology (a pseudoscience focused on legendary animals, such as Bigfoot).
- During the announcement of his defection, Mr Matthews criticised the criminal justice system, blaming “wokeness” and accusing politicians of adopting policies from “failed states”.
- Reform UK also announced that Vanessa Frake-Harris MBE, a retired governor of Wormwood Scrubs, has joined the party.
- Ms Frake-Harris, who will contribute to Reform UK's law and order taskforce, criticised successive governments for the current “crisis” in the prison service.
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