Calls for Nigel Farage to cut ties after speaker alleges COVID vaccines linked to cancers in royal family

Nigel Farage was urged on Saturday to sever ties with a speaker at a Reform UK conference after a cardiologist told delegates he believed COVID-19 vaccines could have been a factor in cancers affecting the King and the Princess of Wales.

Dr Aseem Malhotra, described by the party and media as a vaccine-sceptic cardiologist, made the remarks during a speech in Birmingham in which he criticised pharmaceutical companies, politicians and the World Health Organization. He said he had spoken with "Professor Angus Dalgliesh," whom he described as a leading oncologist, and quoted him as saying he believed the vaccines were "interfering with genes." Malhotra also asserted that "hundreds of studies" showed harmful effects of mRNA vaccines and that "it may be a risk factor for cancer," adding that "many other doctors feel the same way."

Malhotra identified himself as a friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he described to the audience as the U.S. health secretary, and who has been a controversial figure for promoting views outside mainstream public health positions. The comments drew immediate criticism from public health observers and political figures, who said the claims risked fuelling vaccine misinformation.

Critics urged Farage to "sever all ties" with the speaker, saying the remarks were unsubstantiated and could undermine public confidence in vaccination programmes. Malhotra’s comments echo earlier claims by a minority of clinicians that have not been accepted by the wider scientific community.

Public health agencies and cancer specialists maintain that there is no established evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer. Large-scale safety monitoring performed by regulatory bodies and independent researchers has found the vaccines to be safe and effective at reducing severe illness and death from COVID-19. Representatives of those agencies and of major oncology organisations have repeatedly said no causal link between authorised COVID-19 vaccines and cancer has been demonstrated.

Reform UK organised the event in Birmingham as part of its party conference programme. The party has previously hosted speakers with critical views on COVID-19 policy, a record that has drawn both support from sceptical voters and rebuke from mainstream medical experts.

Malhotra has been a prominent critic of aspects of the COVID-19 response and has promoted viewpoints that diverge from those of mainstream public health bodies. His association with high-profile sceptical figures has contributed to scrutiny from health experts who warn that unverified claims about vaccine harms can discourage uptake and harm public health.

The speech comes more than five years after the initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, during a period when vaccine safety continues to be monitored worldwide. Regulatory agencies have said that where rare adverse events have been identified, they have been investigated and public guidance updated; none of the agencies have concluded that the vaccines cause cancer.

The debate at the conference underlines ongoing tensions between political movements that question the mainstream pandemic narrative and the scientific and medical establishments that emphasise evidence-based assessment of vaccine safety. The remarks have reinvigorated calls from health advocates for political figures to distance themselves from speakers whose assertions run counter to the consensus of public-health authorities.