BBC Breakfast’s Sally Nugent spoke to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on Tuesday’s instalment of the show.
Farage questioned over aide’s Badenoch comment
Things got slightly heated during the most recent instalment of BBC Breakfast between Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and presenter Sally Nugent as she highlighted comments made by Raheem Kassam, a former chief of staff to Farage. The BBC star mentioned that Raheem had spoken about the Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, calling her a “Nigerian scammer”.
Nugent asked: “Do you think that’s racist?” Farage replied: “A, he’s not a former chief of staff. B, he’s currently in America, and C, he’s Indian. He’s of Indian heritage, so?” Cutting in, the BBC star asked if that meant he couldn’t be racist as Farage replied: “I don’t know, you tell me the answer to that. As far as the scam is concerned, well, it’s a strong word, but it’s pretty clear that Kemi Badenoch often does not tell the truth about things that have happened and tries her very best to reinvent her past.”
Nigel and Sally were in a heated clash over comments made about Kemi Badenoch (Image: BBC)
Not backing down, Nugent asked once again if he supported the comments that Badenoch is a “Nigerian scammer” as he reiterated what he had just said. He added: “I just said to you, very, very clearly, that the word scammer is about someone who doesn’t always tell the truth. There are quite a few instances over the last couple of months of her not telling the truth.”
Nugent replied: “Do you think that’s racist? Do you think the phrase ‘Nigerian scammer’ is racist?” Farage added: “I’ve just explained to you that there are two different words. One is scammer, and the other is Nigerian. He’s of Indian heritage. Ask him how he describes himself. Kemi Badenoch calls herself British; she grew up in Nigeria. By the way, this is not a debate I’m getting involved in. Somebody in America is making a comment on Twitter.”
Sally was determined to get an answer from Nigel (Image: BBC)
However, Nugent spoke over Farage while he continued, as she highlighted that he was a close associate of his. Although he didn’t seem phased as he said: “So what? People say all sorts of things on Twitter, every single day.”
Despite Farage making it clear he didn’t want to delve into the comment again, Nugent continued to ask whether or not he believed the phrase was racist. In the end, he replied: “No, I don’t. I don’t think saying someone grew up in Nigeria is racist, no, I don’t. I don’t think it is, you tell me. What do you think?”
Although he explained he believes the comment was “over the top”, Farage told Nugent that he doesn’t think the remark was intentionally racist.