Has Zia Yusuf finally gone too far for Farage?

Zia Yusuf, Reform’s absurdly-titled ‘shadow home secretary’ already has terrible relations with Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick and is said to get on poorly with deputy leader Richard Tice. But has he finally tested the patience of the only man who ultimately matters – Nigel Farage?

Farage is reported to have had what is euphemistically called “a lengthy chat” with Yusuf on Tuesday afternoon after he posted a string of posts on X calling former defence secretary Ben Wallace a “traitor”. Farage told the Sun that was “too strong a word” and that he would give Yusuf “a ticking off”.

Yet by Wednesday lunchtime, Yusuf had not removed any of the posts, and questions were again growing about what leverage he might have over Farage, who persuaded him to return to Reform after resigning as chairman in June 2025. He remains a key advisor to the leader, despite not being popular with many party members and is a controversial figure even within Farage’s top team.

The latest flare-up began when Yusuf went on a day-long rant against Wallace after the Conservative questioned Reform’s policy to deport all foreign nationals serving time in British prisons to their home countries. Wallace questioned how they would force those countries to take them, how victims would feel if they were then released and what would stop Irish offenders in particular from returning.

“Incredible that this moron was Defence Secretary,” responded Yusuf. “If their home countries won’t take back their citizens that are languishing in our jails, we are renting spaces in countries like El Salvador to put them.

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“They will serve their full jail terms there, and will be banned from ever coming back to Britain. They may well include some of the thousands of Afghans you imported, including those who had not been vetted properly and including Taliban fighters (!).

“You know, the ones you took a super injunction out to keep secret from the British people? That’s why I call you a traitor to Britain. You fit the dictionary definition.”

When Wallace – who served in the British Army with the Scots Guards – hit back, variously describing Yusuf as “a man who never put a uniform on… just worked at a bank”, “a man who is literally making policy and facts up” and “a man who can’t even get his own party to pick him as an MP”, Yusuf upped his abuse and appeared to threaten the former minister.

“Your actions constitute treachery, and many serving in the military use that word to describe you,” he wrote. “Our Boriswave Inquiry will shine a bright disinfecting light on all of the above, and I will not hesitate to declassify the things you did to betray the British people.

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“That’s why you’re lashing out. Tick tock.”

He then went as far as to publish a poll on his X page asking followers whether Wallace should be prosecuted for treason “for importing thousands of unvetted Afghans to Britain – including Taliban fighters and rapists – and taking out an injunction to keep it secret”. More than 18,000 voted, with 55.3% voting yes.

Oddly, though, Yusuf neglected to mention two other senior Tories who were in the cabinet at the time – although he was keen to in the past.

In July 2025, he posted on X that: “The British government learnt of the data leak in August 2023. 24k Afghans secretly granted asylum, costing British taxpayers up to £7 billion.

“The government covered it up. Who was in government? Home Secretary: Suella Braverman. Immigration Minister: Robert Jenrick.” Both now, of course, are in Reform’s ‘shadow cabinet’, so presumably get a pass. Whether Yusuf remains in it with them is another matter.