Carol Vorderman slams Reform UK's Makerfield candidate branding him a 'vile online abuser'
The TV star said she 'wouldn't let him in my house if he was a local plumber in my area' after Robert Kenyon's comments about women, including Ms Vorderman, were revealed.
Carol Vorderman has hit out at Reform UK over what she describes as a 'disgusting online abuser' after 'misogynistic' comments allegedly posted by the party's candidate in the Makerfield by-election surfaced online.
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Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who is Reform UK's pick to take on Andy Burnham in the now-vacant seat, was seen to agree with several misogynistic online posts from his now-deleted X account, it's been alleged.
Kenyon was reportedly in possession of two separate X accounts, one of which was suspended by the platform and the other deleted, with campaign group Hope Not Hate unearthing a slew of "misogynistic" posts and comments dating back several years.
Posting to Instagram, Carol Vorderman showed screenshots of one particular sexually explicit remark about conducting sex acts on the presenter, posted to X on her birthday.
This was posted from one of the two accounts allegedly belonging to Kenyon.
Other posts screenshotted from the account include offensive jokes about female rugby players - which led to the account being blocked by the Sky Sports Rugby League - as well as other posts likening Australians to Nazis.
"It's a torrent of abusive and vile language. Nobody knows why his X account was suspended. X has a very low bar for suspension, and the public should know and Reform should tell us why his account was suspended," she said in the video posted on Saturday.
"What were his actions for this to have happened?"
The account allegedly belonging to Nigel Farage's candidate was also seen to share posts by a Holocaust denier as well as spreading Covid misinformation online.
After the posts to Vorderman initially came to light, Reform said it stood by Mr Kenyon, claiming his lack of "polish" is what would make him an effective MP.
In December 2021, Mr Kenyon allegedly supported a message sent by a third party to Vorderman that discussed performing a sexual act on her.
The original tweet drew criticism from another user on X who said: “If you’re prepared to put this on a public forum, I would suggest that your computer drive probably needs checking.”
In response, Mr Kenyon wrote: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking,” followed by a laughing and thumbs -up emoji.
Ms Vorderman later remarked: "Fundamentally, Rob Kenyon is a misogynist".
"I wouldn't let him in my house if he was a local plumber in my area, not with what he's been posting online. There is always a pattern," she added.
Replying to one particular comment on how Covid vaccines “help a lot”, the account replied “What a load of c***”, and compared Covid vaccination policies in Australia to Nazism.
“It’s a torrent of abusive and vile language. Nobody knows why his X account was suspended. X has a very low bar for suspension, and the public should know, and Reform should tell us why his account was suspended. What were his actions for this to have happened?"
"Last year, the Victim's Commissioner said 'misogyny normalises violence against women and girls, normalises illegal harms such as harassment, abuse and stalking. And these harms manifest in both online and offline spaces".
"He's not just being a lad, he's being a disgusting online abuser who became a Reform councillor three weeks ago”.
"If anyone's seriously thinking that Reform stands for the safety of women, then please think again. They stand for reducing women’s rights and safety".
In a separate post seen by The Telegraph, he joked about female rugby players being able to “handle their knockers”.
He also criticised the Labour Party in a slur about trans people, and in another, he dismissed climate change as a “middle-class” problem.