Reform UK is facing renewed scrutiny after an undercover ITV investigation recorded several of its councillors and election candidates making racist, sexist and violent remarks during campaigning.
ITV News published extracts from its investigation, Undercover: A Year in Reform, on Wednesday 14 October. The programme, which followed party activists and candidates across England and Wales during elections and by-elections, is scheduled to air in full on Sunday 18 October.
The recordings include comments about Asian and Muslim residents, black children, immigration and female candidates. ITV reported that some of those filmed were subsequently elected as Reform councillors. The remarks are those attributed by ITV to the individuals recorded and should not be treated as statements of official Reform UK policy.
What the investigation found
In Solihull, ITV secretly filmed councillor Alan Feeney making derogatory comments about Asian households and Muslims while canvassing. The investigation also recorded conversations involving Reform candidates Jamie Campbell and Chris Whelan, including a suggestion about using pork to obstruct a proposed mosque and sexually offensive remarks about women.
ITV reported that Feeney, Campbell and Whelan were elected as councillors in May 2026. Feeney subsequently said he had mutually agreed to leave Reform for personal reasons and would sit as an independent. Whelan also resigned from the party, citing personal and health reasons. ITV said it had put its findings to those involved.
In another recording, Bromley councillor Dean Miller made offensive comments about black children and spoke about the King in violent terms. ITV reported that Miller said he had been heavily medicated because of a chronic pain condition at the time of the recording; he has since resigned from Reform UK.
ITV also reported remarks by Tameside councillor Raymond Dunning about removing migrants, including some with legal status, and training young men in military tactics. Dunning was approached for comment by the broadcaster.
Reform UK responds
Reform UK told ITV that investigations had begun where members, activists or councillors had behaved inappropriately, that suspensions had occurred in some cases, and that due process must be followed.
The party said it had improved and prioritised its vetting procedures but acknowledged that some people who do not share its values could still pass through the process. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice also questioned the circumstances surrounding one of the undercover recordings, suggesting the person concerned had acted to damage the party. ITV reported that the person was not named in his allegation.
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson condemned the reported conduct, while Labour MP Liam Byrne called for councillors featured in the Solihull footage to resign. Those reactions are political responses to the broadcaster’s findings, not independent legal determinations.
Questions over candidate vetting
The investigation has renewed questions about how Reform UK screens candidates and responds to conduct by elected representatives. Party leader Nigel Farage previously pledged to exclude extremists and bigots from the organisation.
The undercover footage has been reported by ITV and corroborated as a news development by Reuters. The publication of the extracts and subsequent party responses do not in themselves establish that any criminal offence has been committed. Further material may emerge when the full documentary is broadcast.