Robert Jenrick has confronted travellers at an allegedly illegal encampment near Newton, Nottinghamshire, accusing them of "taking the p***". The Reform UK MP for Newark posted a video on social media on Sunday showing him speaking to people outside caravans in a field.
In the clip, Mr Jenrick tells viewers: "Law-abiding tax-payers are absolutely sick to death of other people taking the mick. I've just been down here to see a traveller site that's come once again." The Reform UK politician claimed the local council spent almost £4,000 cleaning up after a previous camp was set up in the area.
Confrontations with camp occupants
In one scene from the minute-long video, Mr Jenrick tells one person at the camp about nearby residents: "They're all paying their council tax. They're working hard. They're getting up in the morning, paying tax and then they see people just taking the p*** like this."
Another encounter shows the former Conservative MP telling a woman who insists she pays council tax: "I don't think you do. Not for here." In a further exchange, Mr Jenrick tells another person that locals are sick of the money being spent as a result of people setting up camp near the village.
Reform UK's pledge
In a tweet accompanying the video, Mr Jenrick said: "Law abiding people are sick of illegal traveller encampments. I went to visit the site at Newton near Bingham. Reform will end this, once and for all. No more messing around."
The local council has been approached for comment. Reform UK has claimed that travellers are being given a "free pass" to set up camps. The party has said that if it formed the next government, it would introduce laws to grant police new powers to issue orders against people at unauthorised encampments to leave or face arrest.
Previous social media confrontations
Zia Yusuf, Reform's home affairs spokesman, told The Sun in April: "For too long law abiding citizens have suffered under two-tier policing as travellers build unauthorised encampments. And fly-tipping has been all but legalised. Reform will end this."
It is not the first time Mr Jenrick has posted confrontations with members of the public on social media. Earlier this month, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman shared footage from Brixton, south London, in which he can be seen pursuing suspected shoplifters outside a branch of Greggs.
In one clip, Mr Jenrick challenges a man for stealing a bottle of Dr Pepper and asks him if he would return it to the shop, which the man agrees to do. The MP later puts the bottle into a fridge in Greggs.
Mr Jenrick's efforts won praise from supporters for helping to draw attention to the impact shoplifting has on business and the perceived lack of police action to tackle the issue. Critics accused Mr Jenrick of grandstanding and cast doubt on the appropriateness of such encounters.
