Reform activist suspended over racist and antisemitic comments remains election agent

A Reform UK activist in the Gorton and Denton byelection who was suspended over racist and antisemitic comments has been named as the election agent for three of the party’s candidates in Manchester ahead of polls on 7 May.Adam Mitula, an interim campaign manager in the Tameside area, confirmed in February that he had been suspended as a party member “pending investigation”.It came after evidence was published that appeared to show he posted a highly offensive racial slur aimed at black people, and also made what appeared to be a derogatory remark about Jewish women.A notice of election document published last Thursday shows that Mitula is now the election agent for Reform candidates standing in three wards in the Tameside area: Aron Webb, Audra Murray and Daniel Bennett.Mitula also appeared to have agreed with a Holocaust denier that the number of Jewish people murdered by the Nazis had been exaggerated. Mitula later said his remarks had been taken out of context.Reform UK and Mitula have been approached for comment about his apparent involvement in campaigning for local elections on 7 May, when the party is tipped for major breakthroughs.His reappearance comes after a spate of axings, suspensions and resignations of senior Reform UK figures, including a number of candidates in Scotland and Wales, along with Chris Parry, the party’s high-profile Hampshire mayoral candidate, and Simon Dudley, its housing spokesperson.Jackie Olden, who is standing for the Green Party in Denton South in Tameside, one of the wards where Mitula is again involved, said: “Time and again, we have seen a pattern of commentary and behaviour from the Reform leadership that aims to normalise division in our communities.“Here in Tameside, residents have already seen the impact of that approach. In Gorton and Denton, Reform’s campaigning has too often relied on divisive messaging that alienates parts of our community.”Allegations against Mitula, who was the interim campaign manager for Matthew Goodwin during the latter’s failed attempt to become an MP, were based on information gathered by the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate. An X account associated with Mitula has since been deleted.Posts highlighted by Hope Not Hate included Mitula’s suggestion that “60-70%” of transgender people were paedophiles, that he would “never touch a Jewish woman”, and his use of the N-word.The Guardian also found tweets by Mitula where he claimed there were “Muslim no-go ghettoes in the UK”. In addition, in response to a post on black fathers, he wrote: “They are the best in leaving muims [sic] with no support. But those who care about families are very good people.”