The British Reform Party media host once worked for Chinese state media, triggering strong criticism from both inside and outside the party

The British "Guardian" revealed on the 3rd that Ray Addison, the chief media host of the British right-wing populist party "Reform UK", had worked for China's official propaganda channel in the past year to beautify the CCP's rule over Xinjiang, triggering strong criticism.

The report pointed out that Addison is currently responsible for the official podcast and social promotion activities of the British Reform Party, but in September 2025, he served as a reporter for China Global Television Network (CGTN), which is directly controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He hosted a series of videos called "Raymond’s Xinjiang Stories", praising Xinjiang’s infrastructure, calling local cotton fields suspected of forced labor disputes "gorgeous", and praising technology for driving cotton production and industrial transformation.

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CGTN's broadcasting license was revoked by the British regulatory authorities in 2021 because it was deemed to be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Addison's past work for Chinese state media is in sharp contrast to the British Reform Party's long-standing hardline anti-China stance. Nigel Farage, the leader of the party, publicly warned earlier this year that he was "extremely worried" about China's espionage, theft of industrial secrets and infiltration of universities in the UK; party member Suella Braverman also directly accused Beijing of committing genocide in Xinjiang.

Richard Tice, deputy leader of the British Reform Party, has made it clear that he is deeply worried about the CCP's expansion in various fields, especially its threat to Taiwan. He advocates that the Western world should fight back hard militarily and economically, criticizing the former Conservative government for being too weak.

Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who was sanctioned by China, severely criticized this, questioning that the party had not implemented due diligence beforehand. Smith emphasized that everything in China is controlled by the state, and being employed by the state media is equivalent to being employed by the Chinese Communist regime.

The British Reform Party confirmed that it was aware in advance that Addison had worked for Chinese state media, but did not specify the censorship mechanism. It only issued a statement emphasizing that the party adheres to its existing position of criticizing China. It also stated that Addison had worked for GB News and other international media and had never concealed his past experience. His resume is publicly available online.