REFORM UK’s party organiser in Scotland has been sacked following an investigation into his family’s links to a Loyalist terror plot.
Craig Campbell, 52, has been removed from his position in Nigel Farage’s party after the Daily Record revealed his late dad was a UVF commander who was jailed after the bombing of Catholic pubs in Glasgow.
Jason Campbell, his cousin, was also jailed after he murdered Celtic fan Mark Scott but cutting his throat.
Craig Campbell – who lives in Lanarkshire – also has images on his own Facebook page which compared the SNP to the Nazis.
A Reform UK Scotland spokesman said: “Craig Campbell is no longer a Reform UK Scotland organiser. Reform UK Scotland will not tolerate discrimination of anyone in any form.”
Farage’s party is making progress in Scotland, with opinion polls showing them in line to return over 10 MSPs at the next Holyrood election.
On Tuesday, there were calls for Reform to root out extremism within its ranks.
Speaking before the sacking, Labour MSP Paul O’Kane said: “Mr Campbell must take this opportunity to publicly break with and condemn his family connection with terrorism. If Mr Campbell fails to do so, Reform UK must expel him.”
His dad, William “Big Bill” Campbell, was the supreme commander of the UVF in Glasgow during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Bill and his brother Colin were two of nine UVF members jailed in 1979 after the bombing of the Clelland Bar and Old Barns pub in Glasgow.
All nine were found guilty of plotting to further the aims of the paramilitary group by criminal purposes, while four of the men in Bill Campbell’s cell were found guilty of the bombings.
He died in 1997 and a Loyalist plaque celebrates him in Northern Ireland, with the slogan: “In proud memory of a true soldier. Lest we forget. No5 Platoon.”
In 1996, Craig Campbell’s cousin Jason was handed a life sentence after he brutally murdered 16-year-old Mark Scott in broad daylight after a Celtic match.
The murder led to the creation of anti-sectarianism charity Nil By Mouth.
Craig Campbell has spoken about politics on TV, commenting on the atrocities in Gaza on BBC’s Debate Night as an audience member.
He said: “Put pressure on Egypt. Tell them to open their borders, take all the refugees and everybody that wants to leave Gaza. And let Israel do what they have got to do, which is wipe Hamas from the face of the earth.”
Green MSP Maggie Chapman said: “Reform should ask itself why so many people with such extreme and repulsive views are so attracted to that party. All that it is offering is scapegoating, prejudice and bigotry.”
