Yusuf had suggested it was ‘dumb’ for Sarah Pochin to call on prime minister to introduce a ban
Zia Yusuf has resigned as the chair of Reform UK after suggesting it was “dumb” of the party’s newest MP to ask the prime minister if he would ban the burqa.
Yusuf, a donor and businessman, said he was resigning after less than a year in the job because he did not believe working to get a Reform government elected was a good use of his time.
His departure is a blow to Nigel Farage as he tries to professionalise his rapidly growing party, with political rivals saying it shows the Reform leader cannot work with other senior figures without falling out.
Yusuf, who is Muslim, quit after a dispute about the party’s handling of its position on the burqa. Sarah Pochin, the new Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby, had pressed Keir Starmer on the issue in parliament on Wednesday, and Farage had also said on GB News that it was time for a debate about the burqa.
