Reform UK councillors' racist comments exposed by ITV undercover investigation
Reform UK councillors and election candidates were filmed making racist, misogynistic remarks and threats of extreme violence in an ITV undercover investigation aired on Wednesday, and three councillors have already stood down from the party.
Reform UK councillors' racist comments exposed by ITV undercover investigation
An ITV undercover investigation broadcast on Wednesday filmed Reform UK councillors and election candidates making graphic threats of extreme violence and expressing racist and misogynistic views, prompting a fresh crisis for the party. Three councillors have already stood down, and Reform says it is investigating the first revelations.
Who has resigned
The first clips centred on Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull. The footage showed him describing Asian homeowners as "parasites" and saying that "no more than 1% of [the] British population can be non-white". Feeney had earlier won seats on Birmingham city council and Solihull Metropolitan borough council before taking on the deputy mayor role. He has announced that he has left Reform "for personal reasons".
Feeney was filmed alongside Jamie Campbell and Chris Whelan, who went on to become councillors, talking about where a local mosque might be built. After the group made extreme racist comments, Feeney was recorded saying:
Oh god, we're all going to end up in the papers
- Chris Whelan announced he had resigned from Reform on 12 October "on personal and health grounds".
- Jamie Campbell is still in post.
Other remarks caught on film
The footage also captured a Bromley councillor calling for King Charles to be killed, and another councillor who made disturbing sexual and misogynistic comments about female colleagues.
In separate filming, Dean Miller, a Reform councillor for Bromley, made a range of comments while campaigning for the Makerfield byelection, including remarks about illegal immigrants crossing the Channel.
Reform's response
In a statement on Wednesday night, Reform accused ITV and Hardcash Productions of "extreme methods of deception". The party said an undercover journalist had been commissioned to provide altered identification documents, a false address and false credentials in order to access the party's headquarters and computer systems and spy on employees.
The party also said Farage and others were "being targeted by individuals who wished them harm" during the investigation, creating a security issue, and that ITV had been on notice of it since March this year but had not included it in its report. Reform said there is currently an ongoing police investigation relating to security breaches against Mr Farage.
Reform made several further points in its statement:
- Not all individuals covertly recorded by ITV are party members.
- Where members, activists and councillors have clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations have commenced.
- In some cases, there have been suspensions.
The party says it carries out vetting checks on everyone who wants to stand for election. Farage has made repeated pledges over the last two years to rid Reform of "extremists" and "bigots" and introduce vetting.
Pressure on Farage
Nigel Farage postponed a major announcement that was due to take place in Essex on Thursday morning as the party tries to contain the fallout. Bridget Phillipson MP, chair of the Labour party, described the exposed behaviour as "truly sickening" and said every Reform councillor, council candidate or party member found to have made such comments "must be thrown out of Reform UK immediately".
The crisis comes at a time when Reform has been stalling in the polls. The party also faces fallout from a different undercover investigation that filmed senior officials discussing a potential way to secure foreign donations, and a parliamentary standards commissioner is investigating whether Farage should have declared a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Further revelations are expected, including undercover filming of senior Reform politicians and officials working at the party's UK headquarters. The documentary, Undercover: A Year In Reform, airs on 18 October at 10.20pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
