Darren Grimes, the deputy leader of Durham County Council, has faced criticism after being secretly filmed by ITV appearing to offer media training to controversial Reform UK candidates as part of an undercover investigation.
Cllr Grimes was covertly recorded during a media preparation session with Welsh councillor Karl Lewis, who had previously circulated controversial material online, including posts regarding Muslim migrants. In the footage, Cllr Grimes questioned Mr Lewis about contentious online activity, including sharing Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate content, while preparing him for potential media scrutiny.
Political backlash in County Durham
His participation has drawn condemnation from opposition politicians in County Durham, who have raised concerns about Reform's methods for addressing controversial views held or voiced by its candidates. Nevertheless, the Annfield Plain and Tanfield councillor described the revelations as the 'worst' matter for which he could face criticism.
The footage follows ITV's year-long undercover investigation which secured access to Reform's Westminster headquarters and party gatherings. ITV reported that its investigation captured numerous party figures and activists making racist or extremist comments.
Investigation findings
Amongst the discoveries, a prospective Reform parliamentary candidate was filmed claiming Muslims could not be British and advocating for people arriving in the UK by small boats to be placed in "concentration camps". Liberal Democrat councillor Amanda Hopgood, the former leader of Durham County Council, characterised the investigation as "deeply disturbing".
She said: "The racist, extremist and offensive views exposed have no place in our politics, let alone among people seeking to represent our communities. But what should concern residents of County Durham even more is the involvement of Darren Grimes, Reform UK's Deputy Leader of Durham County Council, in providing media training to candidates facing questions over controversial material they had shared."
"The question is simple: was Reform UK more concerned with challenging unacceptable views, or teaching candidates how to defend themselves when those views came under scrutiny? You cannot train away extremism with a few carefully rehearsed answers. You have to confront it."
Grimes responds
Labour MP Luke Akehurst also criticised Cllr Grimes, stating: "I'm astonished if Cllr Grimes is seen as a useful expert trainer for Reform candidates given his own output of inflammatory and offensive AI generated social media posts."
However, Cllr Grimes insisted he would not be lectured by opposition parties. "ITV skullduggery filmed me putting candidates through robust questioning about what they'd posted online," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "Other parties seldom bother vetting their candidates at all. Perhaps it's something they could learn from. I'm not going to be lectured on so-called inflammatory commentary by Labour and the Liberal Democrats."
He stated that Labour and the Liberal Democrats were: "The same parties who shrug their shoulders as County Durham becomes an illegal migrant dumping ground. And the same parties who jump to calling their opponents far right and extreme, when most residents in County Durham agree with us. If the worst they've got on me is a generated bit of illustrative imagery, I reckon I'm doing all right after 18 months in office."
ITV additionally revealed that two Reform councillors in west London had discussed executing grooming gang offenders. When approached regarding the investigation, Reform UK had previously stated: "Where members, activists and councillors have clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations have commenced. In some cases, there have been suspensions and due process must 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. This is the same for all organisations."
