European elections: Rachel Johnson will stand for Change UK

Boris Johnson’s sister, a former BBC broadcaster and John Major’s health secretary will all stand for Change UK in next month’s European elections, but the party’s launch yesterday was marred when one of its candidates was forced to stand down within hours over comments about Romanians. The pro-Remain party announced its MEP hopefuls from almost 4,000 applicants at a campaign launch in Bristol yesterday. Rachel Johnson, Gavin Esler, a former Newsnight presenter, and Stephen Dorrell, a cabinet minister from 1994 to 1997, were among dozens of candidates on the stage. Heidi Allen, 44, the interim leader, described them as coming from “every corner of the UK” and from “all walks of life”, adding: “These elections are a chance to send the clearest possible message: we demand a People’s Vote and the right to campaign to remain in the European Union.” Ali Sadjady, one of the candidates, rapidly came under scrutiny for a comment he posted on Twitter in 2017: “When I hear that 70 per cent of pickpockets caught on the [London Underground] are Romanian it kind [of] makes me want #Brexit”. The tweet was uncovered by The Independent, prompting the former Conservative supporter, who was running in London, to say that he would stand down “so as not to tarnish” Change UK’s reputation.