Reform UK’s Blackpool byelection candidate denies wrongdoing amid charity probe

Reform UK’s candidate in the Blackpool South byelection has denied any wrongdoing after the Charity Commission launched a probe into allegations that the soup kitchen he founded was used to promote his campaign.

Mark Butcher, who is standing for the party in next week’s election, posted a Facebook message this month which said that the campaign would be starting at the kitchen, Amazing Graze.

Butcher had previously run as an independent and has a strong local profile on the back of his charity work.

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We have an active compliance case into Amazing Graze to assess concerns raised about support for a political candidate, and are engaging with the trustees.”

Butcher blamed political opponents for making complaints that triggered the probe – first reported by the Lead – and told the Guardian he was sure it would find that no rules were breached.

Butcher, a former businessman, said he was “100% sure” that the complaint to the Charity Commission had come from political opponents.