Reform by-election candidate refuses to apologise for Vorderman ‘abuse’

Reform UK’s Makerfield by-election candidate has refused to apologise to Carol Vorderman after he agreed with a sexually explicit tweet about her.

Robert Kenyon, a plumber who is standing against Labour’s Andy Burnham on June 18, rejected Ms Vorderman’s demand that he say sorry for a post from December 2021.

Writing on his now-deleted Twitter account, Mr Kenyon endorsed a sexually explicit message directed at the television presenter that was too graphic for The Telegraph to reproduce.

After another user criticised the original post, he said: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking,” alongside laughing and thumbs-up emojis.

Asked directly whether he wanted to take the opportunity to apologise to Ms Vorderman, Mr Kenyon said: “I think I’ve addressed the issue.”

The Reform candidate used an interview with the Manchester Evening News to insist he was “not a polished politician” and that everyone had made mistakes.

Mr Kenyon said: “I think everybody does say things that eventually they regret. It was a crude attempt at a joke to probably about 50 followers. No offence was meant, and it’s not something I’d do now.”