Reform Wales leader criticised over knife attack comments
Martin Shipton
Reform UK Wales leader Dan Thomas has received a social media trouncing after trying to make political capital out of knife attacks on two Jewish men in London.
The Metropolitan Police have said that a 45-year-old British national, who was born in Somalia, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Met commissioner Mark Rowley said the suspect has a history of mental health issues, drug use and convictions for violence.
Thomas posted a message to his X account that said: “My thoughts are with the victims and the Jewish community in Barnet, a community very close to my heart.
“In Cardiff, like London, Jews live in fear because antisemitism has been tolerated by Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.”
The attacks took place in Golders Green, a predominantly Jewish area of north London which forms part of the London Borough of Barnet, where Thomas was the Conservative council leader. The Tories lost control of the council to Labour at the last council election and Thomas defected to Reform last year after telling colleagues he was moving to Bath.
He subsequently pitched up in the Caerphilly council area where he was brought up and where he is now standing for a Senedd seat in the new “super constituency” of Casnewydd Islwyn.
Reacting angrily to Thomas’s post, a number of social media users drew attention to the widely alleged antisemitic comments made by overall Reform UK leader Nigel Farage when he was a teenage pupil at fee-paying Dulwich College in London.
Nick Walsh wrote: “More than a dozen former classmates and peers alleged that a teenage Farage used racist, antisemitic and fascist language, including allegations that he sang a song containing the phrase ‘Gas them all’ and made comments such as ‘Hitler was right’.
Another responder wrote: “What about the Somalis who’ve lived in Cardiff for decades and are now suddenly a threat because racist politics is in fashion?”
Someone called Mark wrote: “Just when I thought you couldn’t get lower here you are trying to make political capital out of a terrible event. Shameless.”
Responding to Thomas’s assertion that Jews live in fear in Cardiff because antisemitism has been tolerated by Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Greens, Daf Williams wrote: “Would you be able to prove that in a court of law? Would you be able to give specific instances or is this just another blasé sound bite?”
Shamelessness
Another poster said: “Your boss made hissing noises at Jewish people. Your shamelessness is off the scale.”
Another said: “Hard to believe that any decent politician would use the awful events in Golders Green to try and score points against his opponents. This is not the time. Jewish people in the UK deserve the support of politicians at this time, full stop. Hang your head in shame.”
Sion said: “This is the most fucking shameless thing I’ve seen from you or anyone in Reform Wales yet. Disgrace.”
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Your boss likes to taunt Jewish people with gas noises. Let’s not pretend you have any moral high ground here, Danny Boy. And how about that Nazi saluting candidate Corey Edwards?
Does he have any contact with ordinary people in Wales in his daily life? Or with any members of minority groups and communities?
How does he know what we are thinking and feeling?
From his pad in Bath? Hardly likely.
Gwaelod y gasgen.
Farage has form with that religion, attacking it. He also has done a lot to attack many not white and stoke race riots and raise levels of race hate in the UK. Farage refused to censure pochin after she said she hated to see coloured people on TV.
but Dan knows this.
Reform’s office junior, Dan Thomas, in attacking Plaid Cymru, is on very shaky ground, given that his boss, Nigel Farage, faced accusations of antisemitism during his years at Dulwich College (1975–1981). He was alleged to have taunted Jewish students—claims supported by testimony from former classmates and a teacher in a television documentary. More recently, his party’s billionaire donor, Arron Banks, made racist comments towards Black community organiser Elbashir Idris, questioning his “Welshness” after Idris posted a video on X (Twitter) supporting Plaid Cymru, before lamely claiming it was only a joke and that Plaid needed a sense of humour.