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Vietnam editionITV Exposure, working with Hardcash Productions, spent a year filming Reform UK councillors and candidates in England and Wales, UK Fact Check reports. UK Fact Check says the full documentary, Undercover: A Year in Reform, was scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 18 October. Yahoo News and Brit Brief report that Jason Powell, an activist who applied to be a parliamentary candidate, was filmed saying 'You cannot be Muslim and British, it's like oil and water'. The same two outlets report that he said illegal migrants who cannot be returned should be held in 'concentration camps', and that Reform suspended him from membership pending an internal investigation. The Mirror reports that the film shows a Reform councillor saying he wants to 'machine gun' perpetrators of grooming gang crimes. UK Fact Check reports that Reform said all the councillors identified in the film have been suspended or have left the party.
A party that has won many council seats quickly relies on checks made before candidates are chosen, and filmed remarks show what those checks missed. A suspension keeps a person inside the party while an inquiry runs, so it is a different step from expulsion, and the party's later steps decide how the episode ends.
If you live in a ward with a Reform councillor, the council's published list of members and the party's statement on that person are the first things to read. Treat each quotation here as reported second-hand until you have seen the full ITV film.
Reform's position, as UK Fact Check reports it, is that it has improved and prioritised its vetting and that a handful of people who do not share its values will initially get through. The party says due process must be followed.
The film's content points the other way. The language Yahoo News, Brit Brief and the Mirror report is racist and violent. Alan Feeney resigned his council seats, according to UK Fact Check.
Confirmed in more than one outlet: Mr Powell has been suspended, and Reform says everyone identified has been suspended or has left. Not confirmed: whether any further councillors will be suspended. Watch for the party's statement after the full broadcast and for whether any suspended person is reinstated.
ITV News, UK Fact Check, Yahoo News, Brit Brief, Guardian, Mirror, 16-18 Oct
Reform UK suspends aspiring MP Jason Powell after ITV's undercover film of its councillors and candidatesReform UK suspends aspiring MP Jason Powell after ITV's undercover film of its councillors and candidates
ITV's year-long investigation, scheduled for full broadcast on Sunday, shows Reform figures using racist and violent language, and the party says everyone identified has been suspended or has left.
ITV Exposure, working with Hardcash Productions, spent a year filming Reform UK councillors and candidates in England and Wales, UK Fact Check reports, and says the footage shows them using racist, Islamophobic and sexist language. UK Fact Check says the full documentary, Undercover: A Year in Reform, was scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 18 October. On Saturday ITV News ran a report headlined 'Inside Reform' about an aspiring Reform MP who calls for 'concentration camps' for migrants. Yahoo News and Brit Brief identify him as Jason Powell, an activist who has applied to become a parliamentary candidate. Both outlets report that he was filmed saying 'You cannot be Muslim and British, it's like oil and water', and that he said illegal migrants who cannot be returned to their home countries should be held in 'concentration camps'. The Guardian reported on Sunday that he has been suspended, and Brit Brief says Reform suspended him from party membership while an internal investigation takes place.
Other remarks from the film have been reported by different outlets. The Mirror reports that it shows a Reform councillor saying he wants to 'machine gun' perpetrators of grooming gang crimes. UK Fact Check also reports that Alan Feeney resigned his council seats, and that Dean Miller said he is disabled and was heavily medicated when he was recorded. Reform's response, as UK Fact Check quotes it, is 'In some cases, there have been suspensions and due process must be followed'. The same outlet reports that the party says it has improved and prioritised its vetting, and that from time to time 'a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting'. According to UK Fact Check, Reform has confirmed that all the councillors identified in the film have either been suspended or have left the party.