The company of Alexander Jones, Reform UK candidate for mayor of Doncaster, shared several posts appearing to celebrate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on gold
An account linked to a Reform UK candidate gloated about the war between Israel and Gaza pushing up gold prices.
The company of Alexander Jones, the party’s candidate for mayor of Doncaster, shared several posts appearing to celebrate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on gold. The Telegram account, which is for Mr Jones’s trading business Witness Invest, posted a graph of gold prices going up with a caption and a thumbs up emoji in December 2023.
The caption says: “all time highs on GOLD at market open. Largely pushed from the Israel / Hamas war and growing tension in the region”. In another post on October 9 2023, two days after Hamas’s attack on Israel, Mr Jones’ company posted that “gold prices jumped on the opening, largely due to the war in Israel”.
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The Telegram page also contains multiple gifs of toxic influencer Andrew Tate and appears to endorse his ideas about “the matrix”. The matrix refers, in Tate’s words, to “the systems which are being created by society that are deliberately designed to enslave”.
Mr Jones’s company, which is used to coordinate Forex (foreign exchange) trading, posted one gif and wrote alongside it: “It’s absolutely correct to unleash the Tate dancing gif right now after recent days trading…I will be having a drink tonight for sure.” Tate and his brother Tristan are currently under investigation in Romania for human trafficking and for forming an organised group to sexually exploit women. They are also facing allegations of rape and human trafficking in a separate probe in the UK.
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It comes after comments were unearthed on WitnessInvest’s Twitter/X account, which has now been deleted, showing Mr Jones’s business encouraging Tate to “keep fighting the good fight” and telling him he had “complete respect brother”. The now-deleted comments, reported last week by the Telegraph, responded to Tate saying “I win. No tears” after he was released from jail and placed under house arrest in April 2023.
Mr Jones’s firm replied: “Been focused on my business and smashing the gym every day staying disciplined and making moves. Knowing you have been battling worse demons than me and us all, using you as a motivation. Really happy you are out. Keep fighting the good fight, complete respect brother.”
The comments have raised questions about Reform UK’s vetting processes, which came under fierce security after a series of candidates were thrown out during the general election.
A Labour spokesman said: “The spectacle of Nigel Farage’s mayoral choice for Doncaster celebrating a devastating war because it improves gold prices is shocking. These comments are crass and insensitive beyond belief.”
They added: “It beggars belief that Nigel Farage’s mayoral choice for Doncaster should be such a fan of an online extremist woman-hater facing court for such disturbing allegations as trafficking women and minors, rape and underage sex. If Farage had any respect for the voters of Doncaster he’d urgently clarify whether he supports Andrew Tate’s toxic brand of misogyny.”
A Reform UK spokesman said: “The posts in the group regarding the price of gold were intended as statements of fact and are not meant to be construed as anything else. Reform UK and Alexander Jones do not condone or support the views of Andrew Tate.”
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