Zia Yusuf has lashed out at BBC bias after a Reform UK candidate was photographed appearing to strike a Nazi salute. He said the party has taken action after the “abhorrent” incident and that of another candidate branding the former First Minister Humza Yousaf an “Islamist moron”.

Reform’s Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, has stood by his Holyrood candidates after past social media posts emerged. Linda Holt, the candidate for Fife North East, described former First Minister Humza Yousaf as a “grandstanding Islamist moron” and said he was “not British” although he was born in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Corey Edwards, who was a Reform UK candidate for the upcoming Senedd election in Wales, stood down, citing his mental health, after photos of him appearing to strike a Nazi salute emerged online.

Reform UK’s new home affairs spokesman was asked on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg about Reform’s vetting of candidates after “one of them branded the former First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, an Islamist moron, another candidate made offensive comments aimed at the Jewish community, and another was photographed doing a Nazi salute”.

Put to him that Nigel Farage said last year that Reform’s vetting process would improve, Mr Yusuf said: “Obviously, all of that’s abhorrent and the party’s taken action on that.

“Reform has vetted over 8,000 candidates over the last couple of years.

“Even if our success rate is 99.9%, a handful will slip through.

“But I want to make a very important point actually on vetting and how these things are covered, because yes, of course, it’s reasonable to hold Reform to account, but what consistently happens is the BBC pounces on every single Reform mishap, and gives it vastly disproportionate coverage in your news cycles, and completely ignores the far more voluminous misdemeanours and frankly, egregious things that people from other parties say.”

He claimed antisemitic comments made by Green Party councillors had not been reported by the BBC.

The BBC has been approached to comment.