Reform candidate quits Senedd election after appearing to do Nazi salute
BBCA leading Reform candidate who appeared to perform a Nazi salute in a photo has quit ahead of the Welsh Parliament election.
Corey Edwards, a former Conservative special adviser, was only announced as his party's lead candidate in the constituency of Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg on Wednesday.
After the picture was published Edwards's party leader Nigel Farage stood by him, conceding the image "looked terrible" and he "wouldn't approve of it" but said he would not be kicked out of Reform.
On Friday a Reform UK spokesman said Edwards had informed the party he was stepping down as a candidate "citing issues with his mental health".
"We wish him well for the future and hope his privacy can be respected at this difficult time," the spokesman added.
It is not clear where the image, which was originally published by the Nation.Cymru news site on Thursday, was taken or obtained. Reform said the picture was taken in 2019.
Edwards was previously a special adviser to Conservative Welsh Secretary David TC Davies.
Being named the party's lead candidate for Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg meant if the party won a seat in the Bridgend and Vale of Glamorgan constituency he would have been certain to be elected.
A statement from Edwards appeared to suggest he had been both imitating the sitcom character Basil Fawlty as well as former Welsh international goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, who was involved in a row over an alleged Nazi salute in 2019 which he denied at the time.
A charge against the footballer was found not proven.
Edwards said on Thursday he recognised the photo "from many years ago" looked "bad" and "could be misinterpreted".
"There is a clear distinction between ordinary use of the appalling gesture, compared with me imitating a Welsh footballer's use of it, or indeed Basil Fawlty's walk," he said, adding he would "never make light" of the Nazi regime.
In explaining the photograph, Farage referred to an episode of the 70s BBC TV series Fawlty Towers, in which hotelier Basil Fawlty goosesteps and holds his finger to his nose while concussed in front of a group of German guests.
Farage told ITV News on Thursday: "It was a Fawlty Towers impression. Maybe we should ban the BBC, I don't know".
It hasn't been confirmed who will replace Edwards as Reform's lead candidate for the constituency.
