Reform UK suspends aspiring MP Jason Powell after ITV's undercover film of its councillors and candidates
ITV 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.
DailyDrop U.K. edition No. 15 · Morning · MON., OCT. 19, 2026