Mystery surrounds the career of a Cumbrian Reform UK candidate.
Stephen Ward, who is standing for the party in the Carlisle constituency, told Cumbria Crack on June 8 that he was the CEO of an anti-child trafficking charity called Artemis.
However, the charity has no digital footprint and is not registered with the Charity Commission.
Cumbria Crack asked him to provide us with more information about the charity, its work and how many people it employed.
He responded via email: “I was asked by the press what I do, and I stated ‘I have been offered the position of CEO. I agreed in principle, yet I have not formally accepted it as we are pending the Charity Commission completing their due diligence on the application’.
“I have written to the Armetis team, who completed the application process to write to the press and conduct the press release as and when they see fit.”
However, the original information he sent us said the following:
Name: Stephen Patrick Ward
Age: 56
Family: Single
Profession: CEO of Armetis (Anti-Child Trafficking Charity)
Political party: Reform UK
Where do you live? Just outside of Workington, with strong family ties in West Cumbria.
We also found a Stephen Ward listed as being part of a company called 28th Cube, set up in November 2023, and asked Mr Ward if it was him and if it was related to the charity.
He confirmed he was involved, as a separate project, and is listed on Companies House as chief executive.
We asked again if we could speak to the charity Artemis, and have yet to receive a reply from Mr Ward.
His political career began when he stood for the Referendum Party in Romford in the 1997 and 2001 elections.
He joined the police force and was unable to participate in politics, but when he left in 2013, he became active with UKIP. In 2014, he was elected as a councillor and served as deputy mayor in Basildon in 2015-16.
In the 2019 election, he stood for the Brexit Party in Manchester.
