Reform Senedd candidate blamed Nato for Ukraine war
Facebook/Reform UK Bangor Conwy MônA Reform Senedd candidate blamed Nato for the war in Ukraine in a social media message, saying he doubted it would have happened had the military alliance not expanded into eastern Europe.
John Clark, who has been appointed to a winnable second slot in Bangor Conwy Môn, also claimed in 2023 that Nato was trying to "bleed Russia dry", and had been using the Ukraine conflict "as an excuse".
Rival Labour and Tory politicians said he should be removed as a candidate.
A Reform Wales spokesman said: "Putin's dictatorial and brutal regime deserves calling out in the strongest terms. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked and illegal, and the sooner it is over the better."
In other comments, Clark said former prime minister Rishi Sunak hated the British people more than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He also praised Putin for his interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.
In one message, Clark suggested Putin was "innocent" of the killing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
After the BBC contacted him, he said he "of course" thought Putin was to blame for Navalny's death, calling him a "brutal dictator", and said he was making a "quip" about a British politician whose video he was replying to at the time.
In this year's election for the Welsh Parliament parties can select up to six candidates for each seat in order of preference.
First and second placed candidates are the most likely to be elected, meaning Clark has been appointed to a potentially winnable seat in Bangor Conwy Môn.
Nato is a defensive alliance formed after the second world war, involving the United States and much of Europe west of Russia. Ukraine is not a member, although has applied.
In a message on X in January 2023, Clark said: "This war was never about Crimea or the Donbas. Nato wants to bleed Russia dry and are happy to use Ukraine as an excuse."
In another X message, sent in December 2023, Clarke said: "I doubt the Ukraine war would have happened in Nato wasn't pushing into Eastern Europe".
Nato has always stressed that the alliance's purpose is to defend territories with no aggressive purpose. Putin has complained for years that its expansion into eastern Europe was a security threat.
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In February 2024 Clark said on X that then-prime minister Rishi Sunak "hates the British people more than Putin".
In a response to a tweet from Tucker Carlson discussing his controversial interview with Putin, Clark said "Dialogue is the first step towards peace. Thank you [Tucker Carlson]. Thank you, Mr Putin".
Alexei Navalny was a prominent opposition politician in Russia, who died in prison in February 2024.
He had been serving a sentence of 19 years on extremism charges widely seen as politically motivated.
On the day that news of his death broke, then Foreign Secretary David Cameron posted a video to X saying: "Putin should be held accountable for the death of Alexei Navalny".
In reply a couple of days later, Clark wrote: "As soon as David Cameron opened his mouth I realised Putin was innocent."
BBC Wales attempted to speak to Clark about the message, one of several spotted on Wednesday by an X account called "Reform Party UK Exposed", but he referred the query to the Reform press office.
In a statement issued by Reform's PR team, Clark said: "Of course Putin is a brutal dictator and he and his government killed Navalny. I was simply making a quip about the trustworthiness of David Cameron."
The UK and European allies said Navalny was killed using a poison developed from a dart frog toxin, blaming the Kremlin.
Clark, 57, is chief executive of a digital design agency in Conwy, and stood for Reform as a general election candidate in Aberconwy in 2024.
Mick Antoniw, Labour MS for Pontypridd, said: "He should be removed", adding: "With everything happening in the world and the threat to UK and European security from Russia" it was "inconceivable" that a "pro-Putin" candidate would be wanted in the Senedd.
Janet Finch Saunders, who is standing in the same Bangor Conwy Môn seat and is MS for Aberconwy, also called for him to stand down: "These latest comments from a Reform candidate are extremely troubling and raise questions about whether elements within Reform hold sympathies towards the Putin regime."
Lib Dem Welsh leader Jane Dodds added: "These comments are deeply alarming and raise serious questions about the judgment and values of those seeking elected office for Reform.
"There is no moral ambiguity here: Russia's invasion of Ukraine was illegal and unprovoked, and any attempt to shift blame onto NATO or excuse Vladimir Putin's regime is both wrong and dangerous."
Reform has been hit with a number of resignations among its candidates in the last week, with half of a list of six quitting in a week.
Plaid Cymru also lost a candidate last week, and has faced controversies itself over some of its candidates' social media.
It is expected that all major parties will contest Bangor Conwy Môn. Full lists of candidates are expected to be published next week.
