The Aporia · Reform councillor resigns after being filmed making racist remarks

Reform councillor resigns after being filmed making racist remarks

Read the original at The Guardian ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Campbell, S. (2026, October 16). Reform councillor resigns after being filmed making racist remarks. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/16/reform-councillor-resigns-after-being-filmed-making-racist-remarks

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

Quick Summary

Alan Feeney resigned as a Reform councillor for Solihull and Birmingham after being filmed making racist remarks about Asian homeowners during an undercover ITV investigation. The footage showed him calling Asians "parasites" and limiting their population to 1% of Britain, leading to his resignation from both councils. Feeney apologized for the offensive comments that do not reflect his true beliefs or those expected of elected representatives, stating he would undertake personal analysis to prevent such sentiments in the future.

Written by AI on 2026-10-16, 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 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Reform faces criticism after councillors filmed making racist comments Same event

BBC News

Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100

Reform councillors quit after being caught on camera making violent, racist and sexist remarks Same event

Daily Mail

Hedges 4 of 14 claims Outlet record 68/100

Reform says it has reported ITV to the police over undercover investigation Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 65/100

“The articles describe different aspects of related events: one is about a councillor's resignation due to racist remarks, and the other is about Reform reporting ITV to the police over an undercover investigation.”

Reform candidate filmed saying asylum seekers should be put in ‘concentration camps’ Different event

The Guardian

⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles describe two separate incidents involving different individuals making offensive statements as part of an undercover ITV investigation.”

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

The Straits Times

⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss racist remarks made by a Reform UK councillor captured in an undercover investigation, Article B focuses on Alan Feeney's resignation following the release of the footage, which is a different specific event from the initial filming and its broader impact reported in Article A.”

‘Reform UK should take immediate action against racism’, Burnham says Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 65/100

“Article A discusses a broader issue of racism within Reform UK based on an investigation, while Article B reports on a specific resignation by Alan Feeney following the release of secretly recorded racist remarks.”

Reform UK councillors and candidates filmed making racist and extreme comments Different event

The Guardian

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles report on a scandal involving Reform UK councillors making racist remarks filmed in an undercover investigation, they describe different stages of the incident: Article A covers the initial exposure and crisis, while Article B reports on a specific councillor's resignation.”

Jenrick claims Farage has done more to stand against racism than ‘almost anybody’ Different event

The Guardian

⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles describe related events involving different individuals: one defending Farage against allegations of racism, the other reporting on a councillor's resignation due to racist remarks uncovered by an investigation.”

Undercover footage shows Reform activist claiming Muslims cannot be British Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 65/100

“The articles describe different incidents involving separate individuals within the Reform party and their respective racist comments.”

Nigel Farage in growing storm over 'racist' Reform councillors as one in London says King 'secretly Muslim' Different event

Evening Standard

⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 6 of 22 claims Outlet record 65/100

“The articles refer to different individuals making separate incidents of racism. Article A discusses Nigel Farage's comments and another Reform member in Bromley, while Article B focuses on Alan Feeney resigning after being filmed making racist remarks.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

10%

2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

66/100

The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2764 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

2026-10-19

Mother assessed as posing no immediate risk to others three weeks before Elizabeth Struhs’ manslaughter, inquest hears

2026-10-14

Rachel Smith will turn 39 in prison. The high court says she could freeze her eggs from behind bars

2026-10-03

Tennessee’s top prison official resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike

2026-10-01

Tennessee governor suspends all executions after Christa Pike’s lethal injections fail

2026-09-28

Extra 1,000 prison beds announced in NSW as union warns against arresting ‘our way out of domestic violence’

2026-09-05

Australia’s housing prices are trending down. See which suburbs have had the biggest falls

Who wrote this

Sinéad Campbell

1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 ” Earlier this year, Feeney won seats in the Shard End ward of Birmingham city council and the Castle Bromwich ward of Solihull metropolitan borough council, and was then appointed deputy mayor of Solihull.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Reform councillor resigns after being filmed making racist remarks

The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Asian Birmingham ITV Reform Solihull

Subjects

Feeney PERSON · 9× Reform ORG · 4× Solihull GPE · 4× Birmingham GPE · 3× ITV ORG · 3× Alan Feeney PERSON · 2× Asian NORP · 2× British NORP · 2× Reform UK ORG · 2× non-white NORP · 2×

Narrative

Earlier this week, an ITV investigation revealed secretly recorded footage of Feeney making racist comments about Asian homeowners, calling them “parasites”, and stating that “no more than 1% of [the] British population can be non-white”, during a local election campaign.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16

2026-10-16 · The Guardian

Reform councillor resigns after being filmed making racist remarks · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

Alan Feeney has resigned as a Reform councillor for Solihull and Birmingham after backlash over racist comments that were captured in an undercover investigation. asserted

that → resign → investigation

In a Facebook post on Friday, Feeney wrote: “There is no excuse for my comments. asserted

Feeney → write → comments

With responsibility comes accountability, and it is for that reason that I have resigned every post I hold on both Solihull borough council and Birmingham city council.” asserted

I → come → council

% → reveal → campaign

Feeney has apologised for his comments. asserted

Feeney → apologise → comments

They do not reflect the standards that the public rightly expects from an elected representative, and I take full responsibility for what I said,” he wrote in a Facebook post. asserted

he → reflect → post

“The comments do not reflect my true beliefs or opinions, particularly of the communities mentioned in the report. asserted

comments → reflect → report

These are communities I have supported countless times in my personal and professional life over many years, many of whom I have been lucky enough to call friends. asserted

I → support → whom

” Earlier this year, Feeney won seats in the Shard End ward of Birmingham city council and the Castle Bromwich ward of Solihull metropolitan borough council, and was then appointed deputy mayor of Solihull. asserted

Feeney → win → Solihull

Following the ITV investigation, which is part of a longer series on Reform UK, Feeney announced on Facebook that he was leaving Reform for “personal reasons”, but kept his seats as an independent councillor before resigning. asserted

he → follow → councillor

In a Facebook post, Feeney wrote: “Byelections will be held on a timescale laid out by those councils in the due course. asserted

Byelections → write → course

I hope that in time these councils, and the communities they serve can heal and move on.” asserted

they → hope → time

Secretly filmed footage showed Feeney making racist remarks alongside two other Reform candidates who went on to become councillors, Jamie Campbell and Chris Whelan, while canvassing during May’s local elections. uncertain

who → film → elections

Both Campbell and Whelan have also resigned after the fallout from the investigation. asserted

Campbell → resign → investigation

Nigel Farage has repeatedly pledged to rid Reform of “extremists” and “bigots”. asserted

Farage → pledge → extremists

The party says it carries out vetting checks on everyone who wants to stand for election. asserted

who → say → election

The clips from ITV’s year-long undercover investigation showed Feeney calling Asian homeowners “parasites”, and stating that “no more than 1% of [the] British population can be non-white”. asserted

% → show → population

In a Facebook post Feeney wrote: “I understand that my words have caused hurt and anger, particularly among those from the communities I serve. asserted

I → write → communities

I will be undertaking intensive personal analysis to understand how these sentiments could have taken root, and ensure they can never do so again.” uncertain

they → undertake → root

Alan Feeney and Reform UK have been approached for comment. asserted

Feeney → approach → comment