A former Reform UK MP is being investigated over claims he used social media to “facilitate racial abuse”.
James McMurdock, who suspended himself from the party over separate allegations about loans during the pandemic, is facing a probe from parliament’s standards commissioner.
It comes after he allegedly started a so-called “N-tower” on social media, a way of spelling out the n-word without being subject to a platform’s content moderation practices.
The complainant against the MP said: “The slur was the n-word, with the letters appearing in subsequent posts under Mr McMurdock’s first on X over roughly 30 minutes.”
Mr McMurdock later deleted his original post of the letter “N”. Speaking to Times Radio, he said he would cooperate with the investigation, which follows a complaint by a fellow MP. “I’ll respond and they’ll clear it,” he added.
The post at the centre of the allegation was under an article last month about Sky News journalist Mhari Aurora’s question to Nigel Farage at a Reform press conference.
He has denied the allegations and, when they were first raised, he said he “unknowingly posted an entirely random, and wholly insignificant, one letter comment” while on holiday.
He denied having any connection to the accounts that subsequently spelled out the rest of the n-word beneath the post.
Speaking to Times Radio, Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who made the original complaint, said: “The tweet that he made was an absolute disgrace, whether accidental or otherwise, and I think it’s appalling that a member of parliament should seek to denigrate a Westminster journalist simply for the colour of her skin. In my opinion he is not fit to be a member of parliament.”
The standards commissioner will examine whether Mr McMurdock caused “significant damage” to the reputation of the Commons.
Mr McMurdock quit Reform in July after facing questions related to Covid loans.
The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock “removed the party whip from himself” pending the outcome of an investigation relating to allegations around “business propriety during the pandemic”.
It came after an investigation by The Sunday Times alleged two businesses connected to Mr McMurdock took out Covid-19 loans totalling £70,000 during the pandemic, one of which had no employees.
He said in August that the standards commissioner had cleared him of any wrongdoing and that there was “no other investigation” which required his support into the matter.
James McMurdock has been contacted for comment.
