Photo via The Straits Times

Undercover documentary shows Reform UK candidates making racist, sexual and violent remarks

Read the original at The Straits Times ↗
Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, October 14). Undercover documentary shows Reform UK candidates making racist, sexual and violent remarks. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/undercover-documentary-shows-reform-uk-candidates-making-racist-sexual-and-violent-remarks

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-14 · by The Straits Times
Content note This article describes sexual violence.

Quick Summary

An undercover ITV documentary reveals members of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party, including elected local politicians, making racist, sexual, and violent remarks during the party's decline in popularity this year. One candidate is shown using derogatory language against Asians and Muslims, while another discusses burying pork to prevent mosque construction. The footage also includes a councillor advocating for violence against illegal migrants and another boasting of far-right views with military training plans for immigrants' roundup. Reform UK acknowledges inappropriate behavior by some members but denies any wrongdoing concerning party finances under investigation by police.
Written by AI on 2026-10-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Reform UK has faced significant backlash after secretly recorded footage revealed its councillors and candidates making racist, sexist, and discriminatory remarks. The ITV investigation, conducted over a year, documented instances where Reform officials advised potential candidates to delete far-right content from their social media before encouraging them to stand. Despite these findings, Reform maintains that there is "no room for racism" in the party and emphasizes ongoing investigations while denying systematic issues.

Alan Feeney, a prominent Reform councillor who made derogatory comments about Asian communities during a local election campaign, has resigned from his positions in Solihull and Birmingham following public outcry. Feeney apologized, stating that his remarks were "wrong, offensive, and completely unacceptable."

Prime Minister Kemi Badenoch urged Reform to take immediate action against those involved in the abhorrent comments, reinforcing the message that there is no place for racism or discrimination in British politics. Meanwhile, party leader Nigel Farage defended Reform by suggesting that the investigation was politically motivated.

Critics argue that while Reform acknowledges individual instances of misconduct, it fails to address systemic issues within the organization. The lack of public defense from Reform MPs following the exposé has further fueled skepticism about the party's commitment to addressing these concerns comprehensively.

Written for “Reform UK Racism Scandal” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Reform UK Racism Scandal
Politics · 12 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 14 claims Outlet record 69/100
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 6 of 22 claims Outlet record 64/100
BBC News
Hedges 6 of 44 claims Outlet record 68/100
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 16 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different aspects of undercover filming by ITV, with Article A focusing on general remarks made by multiple candidates and Article B detailing specific suspensions and investigations following the footage.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 21 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe two different events: one about Reform UK candidates being filmed making inappropriate remarks and another about Andy Burnham's government reallocating funding to Labour-run town halls.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different incidents involving separate individuals within Reform UK, occurring at distinct times and places.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 8 of 49 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
12
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4299 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2813 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 NEW YORK - Ballot machines malfunctioned in a hotly contested House race in New York state on Nov 3, prompting right-wing influencers to fling unfounded allegations of US midterms voter fraud even as local election officials insisted all ballots would be counted.
🔮 Black and Latino voters make up a majority in many of the jurisdictions, which are concentrated in states that could determine control of the US Senate.
🔮 BERLIN - Thirty-three people were killed and more than 50 could be trapped in rubble a day after multiple Russian strikes on a Ukrainian village, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Berlin on Nov 3, calling it one of Moscow’s worst attacks of the war.
🔮 "But I would also say it is important for Russia to finally engage in serious negotiations on a ceasefire and a subsequent peace agreement," he added.
🔮 "Whether we will be able to restore trust between the military and society, which has once again been undermined by yesterday's events, is an open question," she wrote on Facebook.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Ukraine probes clashes at military recruitment dorm
🔮 Pope Leo is healthy and ready to depart this week for an intense three-country tour of South America less than a month after his lung cancer surgery, Vatican officials said on Nov 3, adding that no extra medical precautions were being taken for the trip. Leo, 71, leaves on Nov 6 for a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, set to be one of the most intense a pope has taken in decades. He had surgery on Oct 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. “The pope is in good health,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said at a briefing.
🔮 “There are so many vulnerabilities out there that in some ways you could say are waiting to be exploited,” he said following a speech to coincide with the release of his agency’s annual report.
🔮 "But I would also say it is important for Russia to finally engage in serious negotiations on a ceasefire and a subsequent peace agreement.
🔮 Those rulings all came after the US Supreme Court swiftly rejected the administration's request that it intervene in a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to order California election officials not to count any mail ballots received from more than 20,000 people it says may be noncitizens.
🔮 Ceding control of either chamber to the Democrats would imperil Trump's legislative agenda and open the door to Democratic-led congressional investigations targeting him and his administration.
Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2813 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

ITV LONDON Reform Reform UK Reform UK Party

Subjects

Reform ORG · 6× Farage PERSON · 2× ITV ORG · 2× Reform UK ORG · 2× Andy Burnham PERSON · 1× Asian NORP · 1× LONDON GPE · 1× Labour Party's ORG · 1× Nigel Farage's PERSON · 1× Reform UK Party ORG · 1×

Narrative

Police are investigating Reform for several potential offences under laws governing donations to political parties, and said in September they would also look into allegations that officials planned to break electoral law on foreign funding.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 "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.

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

Undercover documentary shows Reform UK candidates making racist, sexual and violent remarks LONDON, Oct 14 - asserted
candidates → show → remarks
Several members of Nigel Farage's Reform UK Party, including elected local-level politicians, have been filmed making racist, sexual and violent remarks by undercover reporters for an upcoming TV documentary. asserted
members → include → documentary
Farage's party has in recent months slipped from first place in opinion polls after allegations about its finances, and as the governing Labour Party's popularity has rebounded under new their new leader, Prime Minister Andy Burnham. asserted
popularity → slip → leader
The footage from the ITV documentary "Undercover: A Year In Reform" showed one man calling Asian homeowners "parasites" and expressing anti-Muslim views while campaigning for Reform in local elections earlier this year. asserted
man → show → elections
He was subsequently elected. asserted
He → elect → ?
ITV released extracts of its findings before the full documentary airs on October 18. asserted
documentary → release → October
Other covertly filmed footage included one candidate in those elections discussing burying pork chops in the ground as a possible way to stop a new mosque being built. asserted
mosque → film → way
Another candidate repeatedly used a derogatory term for people from Pakistan and made explicit sexual comments about a fellow Reform member. asserted
candidate → use → member
Both were later elected. asserted
Both → elect → ?
A fourth person, also a Reform councillor, was shown saying he wanted to "take out" illegal migrants entering Britain. asserted
he → show → Britain
Another councillor told an undercover reporter he was "so, so far-right, it's unbelievable" and wanted to train young men in military tactics to round up immigrants. asserted
it → tell → immigrants
Reform said in response to the footage: "Where members, activists and councillors have clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations have commenced. asserted
investigations → say → footage
In some cases, there have been suspensions and due process must be followed. asserted
process → follow → cases
"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. asserted
who → improve → vetting
Polls show Reform, an anti-immigrant party which was set up by Farage and was formerly known as the Brexit Party, has slipped back into second place behind Labour ahead of an election due in 2029. asserted
which → show → 2029
Police are investigating Reform for several potential offences under laws governing donations to political parties, and said in September they would also look into allegations that officials planned to break electoral law on foreign funding. asserted
officials → investigate → funding
The party denies any wrongdoing over its finances. asserted
party → deny → finances
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support