Reform's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick was forced to deny deflection tactics after he was accused of dodging questions about Reform politicians being filmed making a series of racist, sexist and other concerning remarks. In a radio interview, Mr Jenrick suggested Reform doesn't have a particular problem and that all parties have "bad apples".
Mr Jenrick, who defected to Reform from the Tory party earlier this year, said his party will "never have any place for racism" and pointed to Reform having suspended individuals in question. He insisted Reform has "very strong vetting", saying the Conservatives have "absolutely no vetting whatsoever by the central party for local councillors."
Undercover footage reveals offensive comments
Footage released on Wednesday by ITV, who went undercover in Reform's ranks during a year-long investigation, showed Reform councillor Alan Feeney, the deputy mayor of Solihull, claim that his area was "infested" with Asian homeowners. He was seen suggesting the government should "drag them out of their homes".
Another clip showed South London councillor Dean Miller saying the King should be beheaded after claiming the monarch is secretly a Muslim. He also described Black children as "f***** animals". Raymond Dunning, who claimed to have been asked by Reform to run as an MP, said on camera: "I'm so far-right it's unbelievable." Further clips showed councillor Chris Whelen making vile sexual remarks about a female Reform colleague.
Further revelations and responses
Further footage released on Thursday showed a Reform aide saying Dr Chris Parry, Reform's candidate to be the Mayor of Hampshire and the Solent, was "clearly a racist". Dr Parry at the time faced questions after posting on social media that the then Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy "must go home to the Caribbean where [his] loyalty lies". He had also questioned in social media posts the loyalty of eight other prominent Black and Muslim politicians.
Nigel Farage was filmed saying: "It's showing a bit of... bit of sorrow. Look, 'I'm sorry' is probably a good thing to hear. Just take the f***ing deal. Trouble is he's a Rear Admiral. That's the problem." He added that Dr Parry should apologise and move on. Footage also showed Reform's Director of Communications, Ed Sumner, suggesting Mr Farage was "protecting" Dr Parry.
Footage also showed Sarah Pochin, Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby, saying the party needs welcoming a female undercover reporter posing as a press officer. "We so need women press officers," she said. "They are so chauvinistic. I go out on all the shows and go: 'Oh no, it's lovely, they're all so welcoming'. S***. They just exclude you if you are a woman. There's a bit of a male issue going on."
Jenrick's interview and political reactions
In an interview on BBC R4's Today programme, Mr Jenrick said: "Well, I didn't like what I heard in the documentary or what I've seen of it. The party has acted immediately. We have, and will never have, any place for racism or comments of that kind in Reform, and so we acted to suspend or remove all of the individuals in question, including the councillor Feeney from Solihull that you just referenced, and we couldn't do more than that. I don't accept that this happens any more in Reform than any other party." He added: "In my experience, all political parties have bad apples."
Asked whether he had spoken to Ms Pochin since her comments emerged, he said: "I have, and I speak to Sarah all the time. I wasn't in Reform when she made those comments, and you obviously have to talk to her about them. But that is not my experience of Reform, and she's a very valued colleague of mine who, you know, I work with every day." Told that he wasn't a woman and asked if he was supporting her, he said: "You're trying to make something where there is nothing. As I said, I've spoken to Sarah many times. We are colleagues and friends, and she knows that she can always rely me. But it's not my experience that the party has problems of that kind. Although, as I said before, in all political parties, there are bad individuals."
After repeatedly trying to talk about Labour or the Conservatives during the rest of the interview, BBC host Emma Barnett said nobody was suggesting other parties don't have issues but that he was being asked about his own party. She added: "It risks, if you every time you're asked about this, if you deflect to what other parties have done... you need to address what is happening within your party." Mr Jenrick insisted he was not deflecting.
On Thursday, Andy Burnham said Reform UK must take "immediate and firm action" against party members caught in ITV's footage. Asked by reporters about the investigation during a visit to the North West, the Prime Minister said: "We've allowed a poison into our politics in recent years, and it's time to draw a line under it."
After the latest footage was released on Thursday, Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said: "These latest shocking and deeply disturbing revelations go right to the top of Reform UK. Nigel Farage needs to wake up and realise the buck stops with him. Time and again Farage has had every opportunity to demonstrate leadership and get Reform's house in order and every single time he has failed."
A Reform spokesperson said: "Not all individuals covertly recorded by ITV are members of Reform UK. 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."
In a statement sent to The Mirror, Mr Miller said he had resigned the party whip, adding: "This decision was taken due to a catastrophic, multi-layered failure of the duty of care and safeguarding by party leadership at both local and national levels." He continued: "Any footage obtained by undercover operatives occurred when I was suffering from acute physical and neurological distress, sleep deprivation, and heavily under the influence of strong, legally prescribed neurological pain medications. Any remarks captured during this period of severe cognitive impairment does not reflect my character, my beliefs, or my years of dedicated humanitarian and public health service."
Responding to the latest revelations, Mr Sumner said: "Nothing in the excerpts [of filming] discloses any wrongdoing, criminal activity or breaches of Reform UK policy by me. I do not endorse extremism or bigotry, or any concealment of extremism and bigotry." Dr Parry told ITV: "I would urge people to go back to the original contexts and tweets to see what was said and why. They related to reparations and failures by the police and government. They will see I always exercise my right to criticise anyone in power or the public eye, whom I judge to be acting against the interests of the British people."
