Highlights
- Undercover reporters filmed Reform UK councillors and candidates making racist, sexual and violent remarks during a year-long investigation.
- One councillor described Asian homeowners as “parasites”, while another called for King Charles to be beheaded over rumours that he had converted to Islam.
- Reform UK says it has begun investigations and suspended some individuals, while defending its vetting procedures.
- Labour has called for members responsible for the comments to be expelled
REFORM UK has launched investigations into members, and councillors filmed making racist, Islamophobic, misogynistic and violent remarks during a year-long undercover investigation by ITV, with the revelations raising fresh questions about Nigel Farage’s efforts to screen out extremists from his party.
Footage from Undercover: A Year In Reform, due to be broadcast on Sunday (18), shows elected local politicians and candidates making derogatory comments about ethnic minorities, Muslims and women, as well as discussing violence against immigrants and King Charles.
ITV released extracts from the documentary on Wednesday (14), including footage of a councillor describing Asian homeowners as “parasites” and suggesting that non-white people should be forcibly removed from Britain.
Reform said it had begun investigations into members, activists and councillors who had behaved inappropriately. It added that some had been suspended, with due process to be followed.
“Reform UK has improved and prioritised its vetting procedures, but from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting,” a party spokesman said.
The investigation follows Farage’s pledge in 2024 to remove “extremists” and “bigots” from Reform and introduce a more professional vetting system.
'Would not knock on Asian doors'
One of the most serious allegations concerns Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor in Solihull who was subsequently appointed deputy mayor, the Telegraph reported.
Filmed while campaigning before local elections in May, he said he would not knock on doors where residents had Asian names, adding that they would not vote for Reform.
Discussing an area with Asian homeowners, Feeney said: “This is what we’re infested with. That’s why they are buying along here, because the houses have got gardens. They’re parasites, absolutely parasites.”
He also said that no more than one per cent of the British population should be non-white and suggested that people from ethnic minorities should be forcibly removed from their homes and sent to Pakistan.
Feeney told ITV that he had left Reform for “personal reasons”.
In another recording, Dean Miller, a Reform councillor in Bromley, south London, discussed rumours that King Charles had converted to Islam. He described the monarch as “traitorous” and called for his beheading.
Miller also referred to black children as “animals” while discussing alleged vandalism in local shops. He later told ITV that he was disabled and had been heavily medicated at the time of the recordings. He has resigned from Reform.
According to the Telegraph, the documentary also features Raymond Dunning, a Reform councillor in Tameside, Greater Manchester, describing the party as far-right and speaking about removing people he called “traitorous bastards”. He did not respond to ITV’s request for comment.
'Burying pork chops to stop mosque construction'
Other footage reportedly shows a candidate discussing burying pork chops in the ground as a possible means of preventing a mosque from being built. Another candidate repeatedly used a derogatory term for Pakistanis and made explicit sexual comments about a female colleague. Both were subsequently elected.
A Reform councillor was also filmed saying he wanted to “take out” illegal migrants entering Britain. Another told an undercover reporter he was “so, so far-right, it’s unbelievable” and discussed training young men in military tactics to round up immigrants.
The investigation has also prompted criticism from other political parties.
Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s chairman, said the footage exposed “extreme racism” that could not be dismissed as the actions of a few individuals.
A Conservative Party spokesman said Farage had promised to make Reform ready for government, adding that the individuals featured in the investigation showed he had failed to deliver on that commitment.
Reform, meanwhile, accused ITV of using “extreme methods of deception” to infiltrate the party’s workplace. The spokesman also argued that not everyone covertly recorded was a party member and that individuals could not be vetted for future comments, particularly when drawn into discussions with undercover reporters.
The revelations come as Reform has slipped behind Labour in opinion polls after allegations concerning its finances and a recovery in support for the governing party under prime minister Andy Burnham.
Police are investigating potential offences under laws governing political donations to Reform. In September, they also said they would examine allegations that party officials had planned to break electoral law on foreign funding. Reform denies wrongdoing over its finances.
(with inputs from Reuters)
