REFORM UK have sparked fury after the party launched a “vile” mobile game that aims to stop small boats reaching Britain with a Royal Navy vessel.
Nigel Farage’s party has been accused of ripping the “stunt” from Donald Trump’s playbook by their political opponents in an attempt to “distract” voters from Reform’s growing financial scandals.
Reform launched the mobile game, called Small Boat Scramble, on Monday, which offers a cash prize of £5000 for whoever tops its leaderboard.
The game allows players to take command of a Royal Navy vessel as they attempt to stop “small boats, mega-dinghies and, every so often, a Boriswave” reaching British shores.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said the game shows “exactly” how the party would use taxpayers' money if they were ever to be in charge at Downing Street, as she accused the party of copying Trump’s administration tactics.
“This vile ‘game’ has been ripped straight from the Trump playbook,” she said.
“The White House recently launched arcade.gov, where taxpayer-funded video games allow users to roleplay as border patrol officers on the Mexican border, which is strikingly similar to Reform UK’s ‘Small Boat Scramble’.
“The website also features games like Trump Savings Tycoon, where you can ‘Fill your kids’ Trump Accounts.’
“Reform UK is showing us exactly how they'd use taxpayers' money if they ever make it to Downing Street.
“They’d spend it on producing tasteless video games and cash prizes, whilst slashing vital public services and cutting taxes for the richest.”
Chapman added: “That is not the kind of future that Scottish Greens want. The future can be better for everyone, not just a chosen subset of humanity.
“That more equitable and inclusive future is what we are seeking to create, for everyone in Scotland and beyond.”
The games launch comes after Reform faced criticism for receiving two record-breaking donations from crypto billionaires totalling £72 million over the weekend.
Farage has admitted that Reform may fall foul of the UK Government move to clamp down on foreign donors.
The Reform UK leader has bemoaned the move to retrospectively apply a new law to the twin £36m gifts from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, which were announced on Saturday.
Reform has insisted the donations are in line both with current rules and planned restrictions on money from donors based overseas.
However, the two donations were criticised by SNP’s Westminster leader Dave Doogan MP, who warned the money “will not come without significant strings attached”.
“Reform UK have been repeatedly exposed for soliciting dark money and donations which appear to be illegal,” he said.
“This eight-figure record donation from a crypto billionaire will not come without significant strings attached.”
Labour have also hit out at Reform’s game, claiming it is a “gimmick” to mask questions about the party’s finances.
“Nigel Farage is scrambling yet again to distract from the sleaze and scandal engulfing Reform UK - and the multiple police investigations into the party’s finances,” a Labour Party spokesperson said.
“Instead of stunts and gimmicks, he should come clean and answer the serious questions facing his party.”
The two £36m donations come amid an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into £500,000 given to Reform by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of long-standing Farage ally and convicted criminal, George Cottrell.
A separate £5m gift from Harborne to Farage is also at the centre of an investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog after the Reform leader failed to declare it in his register of interests.
The Metropolitan Police also launched a criminal investigation into allegations that Reform breached political donation rules after it was alleged the party took £32,500 in funding from a US firm for three polls it commissioned earlier this year.
