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A Muslim entrepreneur has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Reform UK, claiming the UK has “lost control of its borders”.
The exact amount Zia Yousuf donated to the party has not been disclosed, but Reform UK claims it is the largest donation to date in any general election campaign.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has faced criticism from Muslim groups after saying an increasing number of Muslims do not share British values.
Asked by the BBC about people accusing some Reform UK members of being racist, Mr Yousuf said the party leadership “feels strongly that we must uphold British values and put British people of all religions and beliefs first”.
The BBC understands that as well as being a donor, the 37-year-old will also have a public role with Reform UK during the election period.
Mr Yousuf, who made an estimated £31 million last year from selling luxury concierge app Velocity Black, told the BBC he believes “unsustainable” net immigration levels are making it harder for legal immigrants to integrate into society and putting a strain on the NHS.
“We’re losing control of the border, that’s my view, and I think that’s an objective statement,” he told the BBC.
The entrepreneur, whose parents emigrated to the UK from Sri Lanka in the 1980s and worked in the NHS, told the BBC “We need to have an adult, non-judgmental debate about immigration.”
He said it was his “patriotic duty” to fund Nigel Farage and Reform UK.
“There are an increasing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values,” Mr Farage told Sky News last month. [who] In fact, they hate much of what we stand for.”
Asked if he was talking about Muslims, he replied: “Yes.”
Zara Mohammed, general secretary of the Islamic Council of Britain, accused him of promoting “horrific Islamophobic, racist and hateful misinformation rhetoric”.
Reform UK said Mr Yousuf’s donation was made as a lump sum “very recently” and is not yet reflected in the Electoral Commission’s donation figures.
According to an Electoral Commission report, in the first week of the campaign Reform UK raised £140,000, compared with £927,000 for Labour, £575,000 for the Conservatives and £455,000 for the Liberal Democrats.
Born in Scotland, Yousuf moved to the south of England with his parents and won a scholarship to attend the private Hampton School in Middlesex.
After working at Goldman Sachs, he quit his high-paying job to start Velocity Black with an old school friend.
Until recently he was a Conservative member but left the party due to Rishi Sunak’s government’s inability to take “difficult decisions”.
Mr Yousuf said despite similarities with Mr Sunak – both are the sons of immigrants and went to elite fee-paying schools before going into finance – the chancellor could no longer “govern credibly”.
“Whatever is in the minds of Conservative leaders, the reality is they are very divided and there is a lot of infighting within the party,” he said.
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