Reform UK candidate suspended after Savile tweets

A Reform UK candidate has been suspended from the party after posts on social media revealed his support for serial sex abuser Jimmy Savile.

Stephen Hartley was listed as standing for Reform UK in the Banbury Hardwick ward, ahead of local elections to Oxfordshire County Council on 1 May.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Hartley confirmed he posted in 2022 that Savile was a "working class hero" and said that he may have "forgotten" to disclose his X account to Reform UK.

When sent the posts, Reform UK said that Mr Hartley had been suspended and that the party had "withdrawn all support for his candidacy".

Jimmy Savile was one of Britain's biggest TV stars between the 1960s and 1990s and was known for raising millions of pounds for charity.

After his death in 2011, he was revealed to be one of the UK's most prolific sexual predators.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hartley said he had doubts over whether the allegations made by victims against Savile were true.

Hundreds of victims have said they were abused by Savile including on BBC premises, in hospitals, schools and children's homes.

The NSPCC said Savile had been one of the most prolific sex offenders in its 129-year history.

Mr Hartley will still appear on the ballot paper as a Reform UK candidate, as his suspension was announced after candidate lists were published.

But within an hour of being sent the posts by the BBC, Reform UK confirmed he no longer had the party's support.

A Reform UK spokesman said: "Mr Hartley has been suspended as a member and is now not a Reform UK candidate.

"We have subsequently withdrawn all support for his candidacy."

The party's leader Nigel Farage said previously that candidates would be vetted ahead of the local elections.

Mr Hartley said he thought it was "fair enough" that Reform UK had suspended him over the posts.

He said: "I may have forgotten to tell them about my Twitter [X] account, which I use sporadically when I just want to vent.

"I understand Reform have got to be careful."

• A full list of candidates standing in the Banbury Hardwick ward can be viewed on the Oxfordshire County Council website.

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