Christian Groups 'Annoyed' At Reform Conference Held In Church House
27 February 2026
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Catherine WyattBBC religious affairs
A number of Christian groups have actually spoken of their "shock and frustration" that Reform UK was permitted to use the Church of England's head office for an interview.
They said the celebration's migration policies were opposed to Church beliefs and mentors.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced his brand-new leading team at a press conference in the Assembly Hall at Church House in Westminster last week.
The celebration stated the criticism was "little more than a low-cost political stunt".
Church House, whose lettings policy says it does decline reservations from groups which "promote racial bias", stated it operated on an industrial basis, and was not part of the Church of England.
Christians for a Welcoming Britain said it was "outraged" that Church House had allowed Reform UK to utilize the venue, which it developed the impression the Church offered its "true blessing" to "hostile policies and dissentious rhetoric".
Other organisations and parties - including the Conservatives and Labour - have actually previously utilized the venue, as have Reform numerous times.
But it was their newest occasion, hosted inside the chamber where the Church of England had only the week before held its national assembly, General Synod, which caused the greatest stir.
Christians from the groups Better Story, Christians Against the Far Right and Christians for a Welcoming Britain, have actually composed to Church House to complain.
In his letter, Reverend Keith Brindle, a Church of England priest in Frome, and coordinator of Christians Against the Far Right, composed that the place had actually been "used as an ethical background for policies that oppose the very heart of the Christian faith".
He composed: "Church House has provided a veneer of spiritual authenticity to Reform's anti-migrant and anti-Muslim politics, and their negative scapegoating.
"As fans of Jesus, we need to decline to let the architecture of our faith be used to back the of our neighbours.
"The Church must be a sanctuary for the displaced, not a platform for their expulsion."
At Reform UK's event, Zia Yusuf was revealed as the celebration's lead on home affairs, with a focus on cutting legal and unlawful immigration.
The party has actually considering that announced strategies to create a "UK Deportation Command", a new company to carry out mass deportations of prohibited migrants.
It was not the very first time Church House had come under fire for its use by external organisations.
In late 2020, the venue hosted 2 boxing fights sponsored by online betting company 32Red.
At the time, critics argued that betting addiction was destructive, and need to not be seen to be promoted by the Church.
Campaigners have likewise previously opposed Royal United Services Institute (Rusi)'s yearly Land Warfare Conference being hosted at the place.
In a declaration to the BBC, Church House said it accepted "reservations from organisations that meet our ethical lettings policy, subject to accessibility".
The policy states that bookings might be rejected if "the hirer promotes views which are anathema to the mentors of the Church of England, as might be verified by its Synodical or Episcopal declaration from time to time, such as groups which promote racial bias".
A Reform UK spokesperson informed the BBC: "This is little bit more than a low-cost political stunt by a group that is totally out of touch with the British public.
"Poll after poll reveals immigration is a leading concern for citizens. Attempting to shut down dispute on a subject near voters' hearts is both un-Christian and authoritarian."