{"id":5118,"date":"2026-06-08T19:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/darren-lewis-reforms-useful-idiot-zia-yusuf-has-been-left-to-sow-seeds-of-hatred\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:32:49","slug":"darren-lewis-reforms-useful-idiot-zia-yusuf-has-been-left-to-sow-seeds-of-hatred","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/darren-lewis-reforms-useful-idiot-zia-yusuf-has-been-left-to-sow-seeds-of-hatred\/","title":{"rendered":"DARREN LEWIS: &#8216;Reform&#8217;s useful idiot Zia Yusuf has been left to sow seeds of hatred&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_42d34d\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">When 39-year-old Yusuf took his place on Question Time in April, it was his seventh appearance since the General Election &#8211; more than anyone else. Why? Someone needs to tell us.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\" data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\"><\/span><span class=\"ArticleTimestamp_updated-date__7qD4Q ArticleTimestamp_updated-date-with-published__iFKpF\" data-testid=\"byline-updatedDate\">Updated <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36738344\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Zia Yusuf, Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary, speaks during the party's Shadow Cabinet announcement at a conference in London, United Kingdom on February 17, 2026.\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36738344.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/4_Reform-UK-Shadow-Cabinet-announcement-in-London.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36738344.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/4_Reform-UK-Shadow-Cabinet-announcement-in-London.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36738344.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/4_Reform-UK-Shadow-Cabinet-announcement-in-London.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36738344.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/4_Reform-UK-Shadow-Cabinet-announcement-in-London.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Zia Yusuf, Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary, speaks during the party's Shadow Cabinet announcement at a conference in London, United Kingdom on February 17, 2026.\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Zia Yusuf, Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary, speaks during the party&#8217;s Shadow Cabinet announcement at a conference in London, United Kingdom on February 17, 2026.<cite aria-label=\"Image: Anadolu via Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">This column is insanely jealous of all the people who have never heard of Zia Yusuf. Reform\u2019s tedious Home Affairs spokesman would bring nothing to the table if he didn\u2019t have lies, drama and misrepresentation. He is the epitome of the useful idiot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Now, I don\u2019t use that last sentence lightly. Yet the actual definition remains particularly appropriate in his case. A \u201cuseful idiot\u201d is a political term for a naive or credulous person who is \u00admanipulated into promoting a cause or agenda without fully understanding its consequences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Consequences are key. The UK right now is a tinderbox, whipped up by a social media platform run by an extreme <!-- -->right-wing billionaire. Racists are now running around, subverting truth and seizing on any crime where the perpetrator is a person of colour and the victim is white.<\/p>\n<article class=\"Teaser_teaser__XImzE OpinionTeaser_teaser-opinion__u0ZfS\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37233641\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"\">\n<div class=\"Teaser_cover-wrapper__VVV7O\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser-image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37228571.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s540\/4_Arsenal-Premier-League-Winners-Parade.jpg 540w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37228571.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/4_Arsenal-Premier-League-Winners-Parade.jpg 650w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37228571.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s948\/4_Arsenal-Premier-League-Winners-Parade.jpg 948w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37228571.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/4_Arsenal-Premier-League-Winners-Parade.jpg\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><label data-testid=\"label\" class=\"Label_label__pFaDj Label_secondary__nOPjT label--section-color\"><span data-testid=\"label-text\" class=\"Label_text__tRLWj\">OPINION<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">So amid it all, why does the BBC, our national broadcaster, repeatedly gift prime political airtime to Yusuf, one of the most mendacious exponents of the poison?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Sunday\u2019s Laura Kuenssberg show was the second time in as many weeks a Reform UK representative (they have just eight MPs compared to the Lib Dems\u2019 72) had been allowed an uninterrupted segment. When 39-year-old Yusuf took his place on Question Time in April, it was his seventh appearance since the General Election &#8211; more than anyone else. Why?<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-37095053\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37095053\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.76\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A \u201cuseful idiot\u201d is a political term for a naive or credulous person who is \u00admanipulated into promoting a cause or agenda without fully understanding its consequences.\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37095053.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/4_ziaJPG.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37095053.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/4_ziaJPG.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37095053.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/4_ziaJPG.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37095053.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/4_ziaJPG.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"A \u201cuseful idiot\u201d is a political term for a naive or credulous person who is \u00admanipulated into promoting a cause or agenda without fully understanding its consequences.\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">A \u201cuseful idiot\u201d is a political term for a naive or credulous person who is \u00admanipulated into promoting a cause or agenda without fully understanding its consequences.<cite aria-label=\"Image: BBC\/Question Time\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: BBC\/Question Time)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Is it because the Beeb wants to deliberately inflame the tensions that erupted into country-wide, random attacks on Black and Brown people during the summer of 2024? Does the BBC have a deal we don\u2019t know about to hand Yusuf a season ticket to it\u2019s biggest political shows? And why is it determined to legitimise a lie: that people of colour enjoy any kind of privilege over people who are white?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Someone needs to tell us. Because even though his appearances consist of easily provable lies and misrepresentations, Yusuf is still able to sow the seeds of hate that take root in the people who don\u2019t read the detail. Then you remember that the BBC is the broadcaster that forced one of its news presenters to apologise TO FARAGE in 2024 after she correctly described him as using his \u201ccustomary inflammatory language\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Apologists pointed to the archaic, anachronistic BBC charter as justification, claiming the presenter\u2019s job is just to read. Not to opine. Just to follow orders. So we just sit back and allow racists to send the country up in flames do we? No wonder TV news is rapidly becoming unfit for purpose.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">You know the facts already: there is no such thing as two-tier policing in this country. Statistics prove it is mostly people of colour suffering disproportionate violence, harassment, arrests and incarceration at the hands of police. And yet, no amount of gotcha journalism is an antidote to Yusuf\u2019s kind of evil. He doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-36781543\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36781543\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DOVER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 23: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage pauses during a press conference on February 23, 2026 in Dover, England. The speech in Dover is Zia Yusuf's first since being named Reform UK spokesperson for home affairs after party leader Nigel Farage revealed his picks for a Reform UK &quot;shadow cabinet&quot; last week. (Photo by Carl Court\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36781543.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/4_Reform-UKs-Zia-Yusuf-Gives-A-Speech-In-Dover.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36781543.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/4_Reform-UKs-Zia-Yusuf-Gives-A-Speech-In-Dover.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36781543.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/4_Reform-UKs-Zia-Yusuf-Gives-A-Speech-In-Dover.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36781543.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/4_Reform-UKs-Zia-Yusuf-Gives-A-Speech-In-Dover.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Nigel Farage, Zia's boss at Reform UK\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Nigel Farage, Zia&#8217;s boss at Reform UK<cite aria-label=\"Image: Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Just like his boss Nigel Farage with \u201cGet Brexit Done\u201d and Boris Johnson with \u201cStop The Boats\u201d, the message is all that matters to him. You will know that the family of Henry Nowak, stabbed to death last December, explicitly pleaded for his name not to be used to drive hate. The millionaire corporate lobby group that is Reform don\u2019t care. Anger, lies and hate is its business model.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They then sit back in their splendour, enjoying a nice red as decent, ordinary folk, radicalised by their rhetoric, are at each other\u2019s throats. In many ways the phrase \u201cuseful idiot\u201d is too mild for Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf. His and his boss\u2019s inflammatory rhetoric is the kind that will get someone killed. How do I know? Because I\u2019ve seen it firsthand during the 80s and 90s as a teenager.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">For goodness\u2019 sake, Yusuf\u2019s own parents \u2013 Sri Lankan Muslims who emigrated to the UK in the early 1980s \u2013 would have suffered it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Are you seriously telling me nobody at the BBC, or any of the other broadcasters falling over themselves to platform him, hasn\u2019t said in a meeting at some point: \u201cThere\u2019s something a bit weird about this guy weaponising his heritage for the benefit of racists\u201d?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Or is all their supposed solidarity with ordinary, law-abiding people who look like me simply performative?<\/p>\n<article class=\"Teaser_teaser__XImzE OpinionTeaser_teaser-opinion__u0ZfS\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37202973\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"\">\n<div class=\"Teaser_cover-wrapper__VVV7O\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser-image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37194013.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s540\/4_Brighton-beach-deaths.jpg 540w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37194013.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/4_Brighton-beach-deaths.jpg 650w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37194013.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s948\/4_Brighton-beach-deaths.jpg 948w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37194013.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/4_Brighton-beach-deaths.jpg\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><label data-testid=\"label\" class=\"Label_label__pFaDj Label_secondary__nOPjT label--section-color\"><span data-testid=\"label-text\" class=\"Label_text__tRLWj\">OPINION<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/politics\/zia-yusuf-reform-hatred-racism-37265636\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When 39-year-old Yusuf took his place on Question Time in April, it was his seventh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4_Reform-UK-Shadow-Cabinet-announcement-in-London.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}