A Tameside Reform councillor has apologised after he was allegedly caught on camera calling himself 'far right' and claiming rival politicians 'should be shot against the wall'.
The MEN understands that Raymond Dunning, who represents the Ashton Waterloo ward, was being investigated by Reform UK after comments made to an undercover reporter from ITV were published on Wednesday evening (October 14). Coun Dunning subsequently stood down and now sits as an independent on Tameside Council.
In a Facebook post he said he was 'deeply sorry' for the remarks which were made 'during a private social gathering', and was 'unaware' that a reporter was present.
Undercover investigation
Airing on Sunday, 'Undercover: A Year In Reform' will show Reform politicians making the comments during a year-long ITV undercover investigation. In the footage, Coun Dunning claimed he was asked by the party to run as a Reform MP in the next general election.
Dunning said: “I am so, so far-right, it's unbelievable… First of all, I'd deport every other motherf***er in this country that doesn't deserve to be here and their children as well. First thing you're f***ing gone, bang...
“And then I'd pick up the pieces after that… 18 to 30-year-old young lads, train them up in the army in insurgency tactics so they can go street by street, house by house, picking the c***s up.”
Claiming that new Reform councillors are ‘being schmoozed by f***ing experienced Labour councillors and independents’, he added: “But we are a far-right party, and our policies are to f***ing kick these traitorous bastards out.
“How can you be a far-right f***ing party when you got your f***ing troops f***ing mingling with the f***ing enemy? They should be shot against the wall – that's what I’d do.”
Speaking about the leader of the right-wing party Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, Mr Dunning said: “Lowe is right in a lot of things isn't he... I agree with him, I don't give a f**k. I'm worse than him.”
Apology and reaction
The MEN did not respond to the MEN's request for a comment. But he has since posted an apology online.
“First and foremost, I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. “The comments were made during a private social gathering, where I was unaware that an undercover journalist was secretly recording our conversations.
“However, I fully recognise that being in a private setting does not excuse the language I used.
“Looking back, I genuinely wish I had expressed my views in a more thoughtful, respectful and appropriate way. I cannot change the words I spoke, but I can acknowledge them, learn from them and sincerely apologise for the hurt and offence they may have caused.
“I have always been passionate about my political beliefs and the issues facing our country. Those beliefs remain important to me, but I recognise that strongly held opinions should always be expressed with dignity and respect.
“I am not a perfect person, and I have never claimed to be. I am someone who cares deeply about my community and who entered local politics because I genuinely wanted to make a difference.
“The past few days have given me a great deal to reflect upon. I am disappointed in myself for allowing my choice of words to overshadow the work I have tried so hard to do for the people I represent.
“To those I have offended, to my former colleagues, and particularly to the people who placed their trust in me, I offer my heartfelt and unreserved apology.
“I cannot ask everyone to agree with my political views, but I hope that, in time, people will judge me not simply by words I deeply regret, but also by my actions, my character and my continued commitment to serving my community.
“I am genuinely sorry, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
Responding to the ITV investigation, Reform said in a statement: "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."
Council leaders condemn remarks
Coun Dunning's remarks have been condemned by other councillors in the borough.
Labour's Eleanor Wills, leader of Tameside council, described Coun Dunning's comments as 'utterly abhorrent'. She added that the council will pursue a standards investigation into the Reform councillor's actions.
Coun Wills said: "The comments captured in the recent ITV News undercover broadcast regarding Councillor Raymond Dunning are utterly abhorrent, deeply divisive, and have absolutely no place in Tameside.
"As council leader, my immediate priority is, and always will be, the safety, well-being, and unity of our residents. To hear an elected representative use such violent, extreme language is a profound betrayal of the very people they were chosen to serve.
"I know how deeply unsettling these remarks are, and I want to be entirely clear, no one should ever be made to feel fear on our streets or unwelcome in their own neighborhood. This administration stands squarely with every resident who feels threatened by this hateful rhetoric.
"It is incredibly disappointing that while we are doing the hard work to deliver for our communities, opposition members are actively choosing to focus on division and hate. We cannot, and will not, allow the politics of extremism to fracture our neighborhoods or distract us from supporting those who need us most.
"While Councillor Dunning has now resigned from the Reform UK group, standard apologies are not enough. Because these actions completely violate the standards expected of public office, Tameside Labour will pursue a full formal standards investigation into his conduct.
"As a minority administration, our focus remains firmly on delivering the safety, accountability, and essential services our residents deserve."
Andrea Colbourne, leader of Tameside Conservatives, told the MEN that her group 'strongly disagrees' with the remarks made in the video.
"Everyone is entitled to their own views, but the language used in these comments is unacceptable," she said. "Talking about deporting people and their families, and describing individuals in this way, is divisive and risks creating unnecessary tension within our communities.
"Whatever your views on immigration, people expect those elected to represent them to speak responsibly and respectfully. Holding public office comes with a duty to set a positive example, even when discussing difficult or controversial issues. In this case, those standards have not been met.
"We believe that everyone should be treated with respect, regardless of where they come from. There is no place for this kind of rhetoric in our politics, and we reject it completely."
Ged Cooney, leader of the Tameside Independent Group, said it reminded him of 'Triggers Me Timbers', the scandal that rocked Greater Manchester in 2025.
Six Labour councillors in the region were suspended over offensive messages in a controversial WhatsApp group. Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton, was sacked as health minister and suspended by the Labour party.
Coun Cooney said the issues raised in the ITV investigation were 'indicative of Tameside'.
He added: “I think we are put here by the public and there has to be a standard of behaviour. How we conduct ourselves is important.
“We are elected to represent everyone. I am really disappointed that we are here again. This isn’t new in Tameside. Labour didn’t deal with it here. I hope Allan Hopwood deals with it.
“That language is unacceptable. But am I surprised? No.”
Coun Hopwood, leader of Reform Tameside Group, was approached for a comment.
Further allegations in the film
In one excerpt from the film, black children were referred to as ‘animals’ by a Reform member, while another claimed his area had become ‘infested’ with Asian families.
Richard Tice has since accused ITV of 'probable criminal activity' after Reform HQ inadvertently employed an undercover reporter. In a video shared on X, the party's deputy leader accused ITV and Hardcash Productions of 'tampering' with passport information and using fake addresses.
Elsewhere in the film, Dean Miller, a councillor in the south London borough of Bromley, is shown campaigning for Reform in the Makerfield by-election.
"We've been ethnically cleansed out of London because you never used to get any blacks over in Bromley," he tells an ITV undercover reporter. "And now, you know, Bromley's like massive Nigerian communities there."
Miller claims he is "not racist", before later adding: "The Muslim thing, that is going to be that thing that takes over everything and then everyone just has one religion. Because, apparently, King Charles is a f***ing Muslim... I think that's f***ing traitorous. Cut the c***'s head off, sorry."
Councillor Miller later told ITV he was heavily medicated when he made the remarks due to a chronic pain condition, and he has now resigned from Reform UK.
As well as racist remarks, councillors spoke about how they would conceal their views in order to gain power.
Councillor David Kerr, from Hounslow, west London, told the undercover reporter: “We're not f****** stupid enough to p*** off the entire woke south or centrist south really of the country. You need to seem palatable to everyone to get them, to get [the majority]."
During the Gorton and Denton by-election campaign in February, the undercover reporter spoke with Alan Feeney, from Solihull Council.
“You've just got to be a bit savvy to get the broad appeal, then once you're in you can do what you want,” Coun Feeney said. Coun Feeney has since resigned from Reform.
Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson has accused some Reform UK members of ‘appalling behaviour’. She stated that the examples of ‘extreme racism’ in Nigel Farage’s party could not be brushed off as ‘a few bad apples’.
Ms Phillipson has called on Mr Farage to kick anyone found to have made such ‘despicable’ comments out of the party, saying: “The extreme racism and appalling behaviour exposed by this investigation is truly sickening.
“Nigel Farage can’t shrug these latest revelations off as being a few bad apples. Every Reform councillor, council candidate or party member found to have made such despicable comments must be thrown out of Reform UK immediately.
“Nigel Farage needs to explain why this keeps happening in his party and why he is failing to deal with blatant racism among those who stand for public office with his backing. It’s clear that Farage and his party are determined to poison our politics and threaten the shared British values Labour will always proudly defend.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey branded ITV’s report ‘chilling’, and said: “I feel for anyone watching this tonight who is frightened to see such racism and hatred festering in their community.
“It’s the very worst of what we’re seeing in Trump’s America. We can’t let it become Farage’s Britain.”
