'Why the change of heart?' Katherine Forster grills Nadhim Zahawi after ex-Tory accused Nigel Farage of 'racist remark' in 2015

Mr Zahawi defended himself while sitting alongside Mr Farage, saying that if he believed the Reform UK leader had issues with people of his background, he would not have joined the party.

Katherine asked: "Nadhim Zahawi, a few years ago you tweeted: 'I'm not British born, Mr Nigel Farage. I am as British as you are. Your comments are offensive and racist. I would be frightened to live in a country run by you.' Why the change of heart?"

The former Conservative Chancellor responded: "Katherine, good on you for digging out a tweet from 11 years ago.

"All I would say to you is, if I thought this man sitting next to me had an issue with people of my color or my background who have come to this country, who have integrated, assimilated, proud of this country, worked hard for this country, paid millions of pounds in taxes in this country, invested in this country , I wouldn't be sitting next to him. I think he wouldn't be sitting next to me either."

Mr Farage agreed and said that is "quite right".

Mr Zahawi, who briefly served as Chancellor under Boris Johnson, was unveiled as Reform UK’s newest recruit shortly before midday.

The former Stratford-upon-Avon MP becomes the latest in a growing wave of more than 20 former Tory MPs to switch allegiance to Reform UK.

Speaking at the event, Mr Zahawi said: “I’m here today to tell you and the British people, that our country needs Reform.

“Britain needs Nigel Farage as Prime Minister. This may come as a surprise to my former party and some in Westminster, but it shouldn’t.

"And it certainly won’t to the tens of millions of hard-working, patriotic, decent people across the United Kingdom from the Highlands of Scotland to Cornwall, from rural Wales to the heart of London.

“We can all see that our beautiful, ancient, and proud nation has reached a dark and dangerous chapter in its story.”

Mr Zahawi also described Britain as “sick.”

The former Chancellor, who said he could have stayed out of politics and focused on business, explained that he felt a duty to support Reform UK, having experienced what it is like to be a popular politician.

He told reporters: “We can all see that our beautiful, ancient, kind, magical island story has reached a dark and dangerous chapter.”

Mr Zahawi blamed this on “failures on mass migration, failure to strengthen our Armed Forces, failure to protect special forces from insane government lawyers, and bad, virtue-signalling legislation.”

“These experiences have provided me with painful lessons that I hope will benefit this great new team,” he added.

The Reform UK leader also addressed Mr Zahawi’s past tax controversies, which had led to his Cabinet sacking.

“There’s nobody with a complex business empire who hasn’t had to negotiate with HMRC at some point,” Mr Farage said.