Imagine my disappointment when, upon landing at Dulles Airport, I found I wasn’t the only irritating Brit visiting Washington DC – Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf had beaten me to it by a few hoursZia Yusuf beat me to Washington by a few hoursWhen I travelled to Washington DC last week, I was feeling pretty smug that, unlike my colleagues, I wouldn’t have to pay much attention to the parties battling it out in the Makerfield by-election.So imagine my disappointment when, upon landing at Dulles Airport, I found I wasn’t the only irritating Brit visiting America’s capital – Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf had beaten me to it by a few hours – and was giving a pretty baffling speech that night to bonkers right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation. And he gave some hair-raising warnings about nefarious political interference from overseas.”I’m concerned about foreign money, dark money,” Yusuf told the few dozen invited MAGA luminaries.”People trying to create flashpoints, as they did in this country between ICE and protesters. There are bad actors who are extremely well funded, who are setting themselves out to create flashpoints.”Bafflingly, he wasn’t actually talking about his party leader, Nigel Farage – who is currently in hot water over a £5 million gift from a Thai-based businessman that he didn’t declare, and was accused of fanning the flames of disorder after calling for “pure cold rage” in response to the murder of Henry Nowak.Am told Yusuf had spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with a string of Trump-adjacent Senators and Members of Congress – so who knows what other wild conspiracy theories they’ve filled his head with.Get more insider insight and analysis like this straight to your inbox by signing up to The U.S. Dispatch with Mikey Smith newsletter, exclusively available to Mirror+ subscribers. Click here to subscribe to Mirror+ now As a Mirror + subscriber, you’ll have:Unlimited access to the Mirror’s appCleaner, faster reading online with fewer advertsAccess to exclusive newsletters only for subscribersThese will include unique insight from our writers alongside thought-provoking opinionExclusive in-depth features and unmissable columnists for Mirror+ membersClick here to subscribe to Mirror+ now
