Rachel Reeves isn't the only politician to have met a controversial mosque chair

Robert Jenrick, Tory turncoat and Reform’s ludicrously titled “shadow chancellor” has been hugely critical of Rachel Reeves after it turns out she had met Arshad Khatana, the chairman of a Leeds mosque who had shared conspiracy theories about 9/11.

Jenrick posted a video of himself on Facebook wandering down a street in Leeds where, he said, one in four people were out of work.

“Now, you’d think the person in charge of the economy would be focused on fixing that,” he said, before loud and ominous music kicked in. “Instead, she’s been hanging out with the man she describes as her friend, Arshad Khatana, a man who shared a military video which also glorified terrorists from two terror groups, who said that those who speak against Islam are an evil gang who he will help to destroy, who’s hosted preachers at his Leeds mosque with vile views. One said we shouldn’t use Google because it’s run by the Jews.”

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As he spoke, the video showed six occasions when Reeves was photographed with Khatana – five of which were from before she was chancellor and therefore not responsible for fixing the economy.

Alas, time constraints prevented Jenrick from mentioning someone else who had been photographed “hanging out” with Khatana – Nigel Farage, Bobby J’s new pal and boss! In 2013 Farage posted a picture to what was then Twitter of himself alongside Khatana and the message “Very much enjoyed visiting the Ghousia Mosque in Leeds on its open day”.

Reform have denied charges of hypocrisy, a spokesperson saying: “That was a chance encounter at a multi-faith meeting with religious leaders from all backgrounds over 12 years ago. Nigel has been photographed with many thousands of different people over a 30-year career in politics.”

That, of course, was the exact same excuse the party made about disgraced Russian bribe-taker Nathan Gill – Zia Yusuf dismissed him as “one of tens of thousands of people” that Farage “meets on an annual basis”. And that was somebody he appointed as the head of his party in Wales!