Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf (born October 1986) is a British politician and businessman. He is the Reform UK spokesperson for Home Affairs. He was the party's head of policy from September 2025 to February 2026.
Yusuf was chairman of Reform UK from July 2024 until June 2025. He was a member of the Conservative Party until August 2024.
His parents were Sri Lankan Muslims who moved to the United Kingdom in the early 1980s. Both worked for the National Health Service. His father, Hilmy Yusuf, is a paediatrician. His mother is a nurse. Yusuf also has an older brother who is a radiologist and a younger sister who works in education.
His family moved several times because of his father's work. Yusuf was mainly raised in Hampton, London. He went to Hampton School, a private boys' school. He received a 50% scholarship there. He also met his future business partner Alex Macdonald at the school.
After university, Yusuf worked at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. He worked mainly with European car and defence companies. He later became an executive director at Goldman Sachs.
In 2014, Yusuf and Alex Macdonald started Velocity Black, a luxury concierge company. Yusuf was its chief executive officer.
In 2023, Yusuf and Macdonald sold Velocity Black to Capital One for £233 million. Yusuf was estimated to have made about £31 million from the sale.
In June 2025, the BBC reported claims about Yusuf's behaviour while he was at Velocity Black. Former workers described him as unpredictable. They said some workers were afraid they could lose their jobs. The BBC also reported a claim that Yusuf approved incorrect financial figures. The figures made the company's growth look larger. Yusuf denied the financial claims. He said the finance team was responsible and that the figures were correct.
Political career
Yusuf first met Nigel Farage at a party organised by financier and former UKIP treasurer Stuart Wheeler.
After selling his company in 2023, Yusuf became more involved in politics. Before the 2024 United Kingdom general election, he became the largest donor to Reform UK.
In June 2024, Yusuf spoke at a Reform UK conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. On 11 July 2024, he replaced Richard Tice as chairman of Reform UK.
At the same time, Yusuf was still a member of the Conservative Party. His Conservative membership ended in August 2024 after The Guardian reported it publicly.
Yusuf speaking with David Frost, Thorsten Alsleben and Tony Abbott in London in 2025
In March 2025, Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe was suspended from the party. It was reported that Lowe had made threats against Yusuf. Lowe said the claims were false. Lowe later said he believed party leaders wanted him removed because of his views on mass deportations.
On 5 June 2025, Yusuf resigned as chairman of Reform UK. He said that he no longer believed working to elect a Reform government was a good use of his time.
His resignation came after Reform MP Sarah Pochin called for a ban on the burqa. Reform's leadership said that such a ban was not party policy. Yusuf said he had not known that Pochin planned to raise the issue. At the time, he called the proposal "dumb".
Two days later, on 7 June 2025, Yusuf returned to Reform UK after talking with Nigel Farage. He said his resignation had been a quick decision made when he was frustrated. He took a new executive role involving policy, fundraising, media and the party's Department of Government Efficiency.
Later, Yusuf said that his earlier response to Pochin had been a mistake. He said that, if he were an MP, he would probably support a ban on the burqa and some other face coverings in public places.
Farage said Yusuf had also faced racist abuse online before resigning.
On 17 February 2026, Yusuf became Reform UK's spokesperson for Home Affairs.
On 25 June 2026, Yusuf appeared on the BBC programme Question Time. He said that he had previously tried to become a Reform UK election candidate but had not been selected.
Political views
Yusuf has said that he was on the political left while studying at the London School of Economics. At that time, he opposed the Iraq War and supported Barack Obama.
He later supported the re-election of Donald Trump and attended Trump's second inauguration in Washington, D.C. in 2025.
Yusuf supports stricter immigration rules in the United Kingdom. He has said that present levels of immigration are too high for public services.
Yusuf has said that he would probably support a ban on the burqa and some other face coverings in public places.
In March 2026, Yusuf said that before Reform UK existed, he had only voted for the Conservative Party.
Personal life
Yusuf has described himself as a "British Muslim Patriot". He fasts during Ramadan. In a 2025 interview with the Financial Times, Yusuf said that he considers his religious beliefs to be a private matter. Yusuf is a multi-millionaire.
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