Reform denies it stood fake candidates after doubts over whether some really existed

Reform UK was under pressure to provide evidence that its candidates at the general election were all real people after doubts were raised about a series of hopefuls who stood without providing any photographs, biographies or contact details.

- Peter Walker, Ben Quinn, Rowena Mason

Reform insists every one of its 609 candidates on 4 July were real, while accepting that some were in effect "paper candidates" who did no campaigning, and were there simply to help increase the party's vote share.

However, after seeing details about an apparent complete lack of information on some candidates, whom the Guardian is not naming, the Liberal Democrats called on Reform to provide their details.

A Lib Dem source said: "This doesn't sound right and Reform should come clean with evidence.

We need Reform to show who they are. People need to have faith in the democratic process." A series of candidates listed on the Nigel Farage-led party's election website only show their name and the constituency they stood in, without any information about them, or any contact details beyond a generic regional email address.

Many of these people have no visible online presence, and do not appear to have done any campaigning. Photographs of the electoral count for some of the constituencies show that the Reform candidate was the only person not to attend.