Romano Valente, a Reform candidate for Fife Council, has removed claims from his Facebook page that he attended Cambridge University after they were questioned by The Courier newspaper.

Following the newspaper’s reporting, the candidate retroactively said the claims were a joke. In response, party leader Nigel Farage has committed to better candidate screening in upcoming elections.

Valente, a candidate in the Glenrothes West and Kinglassie by-election, stated on his Facebook account that he studied anatomy, physiology, and health at the University between 1979 and 1983. Valente used the same account to post promotional material for his campaign.

Varsity could not find evidence of the University of Cambridge ever offering an undergraduate degree with that title. The Courier contacted Reform UK last Tuesday (13/01), asking for verification of these claims from both party and candidate.

Valente had removed all references to the University by Wednesday evening, but had not yet replied to the requests for comment.

The removal of these claims came just before Nigel Farage arrived in Scotland alongside other politicians, as they look towards the upcoming Holyrood and local council elections on 7 May.

At a Reform UK press conference held on Thursday, announcing the new leader for the party in Scotland, Valente spoke to The Courier about the vetting claim, saying: “A lot of people know me, that’s my sense of humour … I’ve since deleted that.”

While speaking to journalists at the press conference, Farage acknowledged that the party has had issues with vetting potential candidates: “It’s been piss poor in previous years, and it won’t be in the future.” Farage also stated that the party has been “let down by people who haven’t told us the truth and we, frankly, haven’t put enough effort in or professionalism to find out the truth about them.”

The new leader for Reform in Scotland, Lord Offord, had not heard about Valente’s claim, but commented that it was this type of issue which required “vetting out”.

When asked if councillors who failed the assessment for Scottish Parliament could continue in Reform, Offord said: “It doesn’t mean to say that they can’t be good councillors but they’re not of a high enough standard to become an MP or MSP.”

Valente also stated at the press conference that he is “going for the council at the moment” but “may be interested in going further,” in reference to potential plans to run for MSP.

Reform UK was contacted for comment.