Reform UK Suspends Mayoral Candidate Over Shomrim Comments

Reform UK has suspended its mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent, retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry, following social media comments that likened a Jewish neighborhood watch group to Islamists on horseback, hours after an arson attack on community ambulances in north London.

The incident occurred early Monday morning when three unidentified individuals set fire to four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish-led volunteer charity that provides free emergency medical response in the Golders Green area. The vehicles were parked outside a local synagogue. The Metropolitan Police are treating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime but have not classified it as terrorism. Counterterrorism officers are involved in the investigation, which remains ongoing.

Parry, who was slated to run in the 2028 mayoral election, made the remarks on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the attack. He shared a post from Catherine Blaiklock, a co-founder of the Brexit Party, which featured an image of Shomrim vehicles and questioned whether Christians in Britain could establish their own neighborhood patrols. Shomrim is a volunteer group that collaborates with police to enhance community...