NIGEL Farage yesterday accused a vetting company of deliberately approving Nazi sympathisers to stand for Reform.
Mr Farage threatened to sue Vetting.com, which he claimed let prospective candidates with disturbing histories slip through the net as part of an epic “establishment stitch-up”.
In April Reform paid the company, co-owned by former Boris Johnson advisor Colin Bloom, £144,000 to scrutinise more than 400 of its wannabe MPs.
But since the election was called numerous candidate scandals have come to light, including links with a British fascist leader and suggestions the UK should have been neutral towards Hitler.
Party chairman Richard Tice accused the firm of having "promised a deep dive, particularly on social media" but delivering "absolutely nothing".
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The party has "instructed lawyers to pursue this matter vigorously".
Mr Farage said: "We have been stitched up politically, and that's given us problems. And I accept that and I'm sorry for that."
A spokesman for Vetting.com said: "Some months ago, we approached all the major UK political parties offering our automated background screening services. We were delighted to be asked to help Reform.
"Everyone's working assumption was that the election would be in the autumn, giving us the summer to complete this work.
"Given the explicit need for candidate consent, as well as our systems needing basic personal data like dates of birth, our automated software was not able to process Reform's candidates with the data that was provided when it was provided.
"We do not intend to litigate this in public, and we send Reform our best wishes as they shake up the UK political landscape.
"Mr Bloom has not had anything to do with the UK Conservative Party since 2022 and remains politically neutral."
It came as Mr Farage yesterday hit back at criticism that his plans to sledgehammer taxes will benefit millionaires the most.
The Reform Leader insisted that his radical economic agenda would give the biggest boost to "the poorest in society".
Mr Farage has vowed to raise the personal tax allowance to £20,000 and the inheritance levy threshold to £2 million.
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He’s pledged to can stamp duty on homes under £750,000 and raise the VAT threshold for small firms to £150,000 from £90,000.
SLEDGEHAMMER TAXES
Economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimate the cuts would cost nearly £90 billion per year.
On Good Morning Britain the maverick politician was challenged over his tax giveaways, which in cash terms gift the biggest payday to Brits on over £95,000.
The plans wouldn't make a direct difference to take-home pay for Universal Credit recipients because they don't pay tax regardless.
But Mr Farage claimed struggling households would benefit because low taxes would encourage higher wages.
Asked who wins most from Reform's plans, Mr Farage claimed: "People on benefits would gain the most because their whole lives would be transformed by making work pay.
"In percentage terms, those at the bottom would do best."
Pressed on why Reform thinks it's fair to cut taxes for millionaires, Mr Farage added: "We want to cut taxes for everybody.
"The more you earn the more you take home.
"We’re coming along as the third biggest party and we want to have an open debate about the things we stand for."