Reform UK has “fully” backed its candidate in the Makerfield by-election amid criticism of his social media posts about Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the Covid pandemic.
Robert Kenyon, a Wigan councillor who also contested the seat for Reform in 2024, is reported to have said that Russia was “within their rights” to invade Crimea and questioned the seriousness of Covid and the efficacy of vaccines.
A Reform spokesman said Mr Kenyon had made his comments before entering politics.
The spokesman said: “We fully back Cllr Kenyon. He is an excellent, local candidate who we are confident will be a superb MP for Makerfield.”
On Wednesday evening, the Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Kenyon had replied to a forum post shortly after Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 that claimed: “The people of Crimea want to be in Russia, for me that is democracy in action.”
In response, Mr Kenyon said: “I agree totally, Russia are well within their rights to do what they have done, as we did with the Falklands. However, will Latvia be next?”
Reports of Mr Kenyon’s comments brought condemnation from Reform’s political opponents.
Defence minister Luke Pollard said Reform leader Nigel Farage had “again chosen a candidate who promotes Kremlin talking points and makes excuses for Putin’s unacceptable actions against Ukraine”.
Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said Mr Farage should “immediately condemn” Mr Kenyon’s posts, adding: “For too long, Reform has tolerated pro-Russian voices who excuse Putin and his brutal actions towards Ukraine.”
The Reform spokesman said: “At no point did Rob explicitly support or endorse Russia’s actions in Crimea.
“These comments were made before he was in politics and during a time when the British prime minister was still having meetings with Vladimir Putin.
“Rob is unequivocally opposed to Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine.”
In separate comments on a now-deleted X account, reported by the Guardian, Mr Kenyon appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of Covid vaccinations.
In a reply to a post about a new Covid variant in July 2022, Mr Kenyon said; “It’s not making people sicker, I’ve no booster and had covid last week asymptomatic.”
Replying to someone who said they had Covid, he later said: “Wait longer, take vitamins, stop having boosters.”
In response, the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group demanded an “immediate apology”, saying: “Promoting Covid and anti-vax conspiracy theories is an insult to the people we lost.
“It flies in the face of science, puts public health at risk and threatens our ability to save lives when the next pandemic hits.”
Despite his claim to have had “no booster”, the Reform spokesman said Mr Kenyon had had “all his Covid jabs during the pandemic and his children are fully up to date on every vaccination”.
The spokesman added: “These comments were made long before Rob was in politics.
“He isn’t a polished, professional politician and doesn’t speak like one.
“That’s precisely why he’ll be a straight-talking, effective voice for normal working people in Makerfield.”
The latest criticism over Mr Kenyon’s social media use comes after broadcaster Carol Vorderman demanded he apologise for supporting an offensive post about her.
Reform MP Danny Kruger said the post was “unacceptable”, but had been “private” comments from someone who was “an ordinary man” and “not a politician at the time”.
The Makerfield by-election is due to take place on June 18 and is expected to be a tight race between Labour and Reform UK.
A recent Survation poll suggested Labour’s candidate, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, had a lead of just three percentage points over Mr Kenyon.
On Wednesday, former Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair endorsed Mr Burnham, but stopped short of backing any potential challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the party.
Some 14 candidates have been confirmed as standing in the by-election, including Conservative candidate Michael Winstanley and Sarah Wakefield for the Green Party.
