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

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Cite

Badshah, N. (2026, October 17). Reform candidate filmed saying asylum seekers should be put in ‘concentration camps’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/17/reform-candidate-filmed-saying-asylum-seekers-should-be-put-in-concentration-camps

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

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-17 · by Nadeem Badshah

Quick Summary

An undercover reporter recorded a Reform UK MP candidate suggesting Muslims cannot be British and advocating for placing asylum seekers in "concentration camps." This investigation by ITV revealed further instances of racism within the party, including derogatory language used against black children and Asian families. Reform UK has acknowledged these issues but maintains there is no tolerance for racism within their ranks, emphasizing ongoing internal investigations while refraining from commenting on specific cases publicly.
Written by AI on 2026-10-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 17, 2026, an undercover ITV investigation revealed that Jason Powell, a Reform UK activist and aspiring MP, stated Muslims cannot be British and called for asylum seekers to be detained in "concentration camps." This sparked immediate backlash against the party. Powell had previously passed vetting requirements but was subsequently suspended by Reform UK pending further investigation. The comments were made at a 'Farage Fest' event following the re-election of the party leader as Clacton MP, and they led to accusations of "extreme racism" within the party. ITV's documentary "Undercover: A Year in Reform," set to air on Sunday, includes footage where Powell describes himself as "pretty hardline about Islam" and expresses disagreement with Reform home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf being a Muslim while British. Additionally, other members are under investigation for using racist language and advocating extreme measures against migrants.

Written for “Reform Activist Controversy Remarks” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Reform Activist Controversy Remarks
Politics · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Guardian
Hedges 5 of 37 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different incidents within the same broader undercover investigation, involving distinct individuals making separate statements.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe two separate incidents involving different individuals making offensive statements as part of an undercover ITV investigation.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles describe investigations into Reform UK's candidate vetting practices, they report on different specific incidents and comments made by different individuals.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different parts of an undercover investigation by ITV News but report on distinct incidents involving separate individuals making different statements.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 37 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different events: one about an undercover video of a Reform UK MP candidate making offensive remarks, and another about Raheem Kassam's derogatory comments towards Kemi Badenoch.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different parts of an ongoing investigation with multiple incidents involving various individuals.”
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different parts of an ongoing undercover investigation, but they do not report on the exact same incident or footage release.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
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
5
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · 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 · 2862 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Nadeem Badshah
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 McCallum added: “As we continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident, we would appeal to anyone who may have information that could assist with inquiries to contact us on 101, quoting reference number 261 30/10/26.”
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🔮 A would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”.
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Also by Nadeem Badshah
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by Nadeem Badshah →

Topics

British ITV Muslim Reform Reform UK

Subjects

Reform ORG · 10× British NORP · 3× ITV ORG · 3× Muslim NORP · 3× Reform UK ORG · 3× Asian NORP · 2× Birmingham GPE · 2× Feeney PERSON · 2× Islam ORG · 2× Solihull GPE · 2×

Narrative

Reform has said it had opened investigations where activists or members had “clearly behaved inappropriately”, adding there was “no room for racism” in the party. In footage due to be broadcast on Sunday, a Reform activist and aspiring MP, who has yet to be publicly identified, described himself as “pretty hardline about Islam”. He said: “If a Muslim’s prepared to de-convert, I’m happy.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 A would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

A would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”. uncertain
seekers → tell → camps
The comments were recorded as part of the undercover investigation by ITV that has already seen Reform accused of “appalling behaviour” and “extreme racism”. asserted
Reform → record → behaviour
Reform has said it had opened investigations where activists or members had “clearly behaved inappropriately”, adding there was “no room for racism” in the party. In footage due to be broadcast on Sunday, a Reform activist and aspiring MP, who has yet to be publicly identified, described himself as “pretty hardline about Islam”. He said: “If a Muslim’s prepared to de-convert, I’m happy. asserted
I → say → Islam
“But if they want to remain faithful to Islam, then this would be, I would have disagreements, especially with, um, I mean, as far as I understand, [Reform home affairs spokesperson] Zia Yusuf is a Muslim asserted
Yusuf → want → disagreements
… to me … you cannot be a Muslim and British … it’s like oil and water.” asserted
it → ’ → oil
Discussing people crossing the Channel in small boats, the same activist said: “In the first week of election, build concentration camps, and everyone who comes across on the Channel, you’re in there.” asserted
you → discuss → Channel
Excerpts from the investigation released earlier in the week included councillors and candidates within Reform using racist language. asserted
Excerpts → release → language
In one excerpt, black children were referred to as “animals”, while in another a Reform member said his area had become “infested” with Asian families. asserted
area → refer → families
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour party chair, said Nigel Farage’s response to the revelations showed he was “completely unfit to lead”. asserted
he → say → revelations
She said: “Bad apples don’t fall far from the tree. asserted
apples → say → tree
The sleaze, scandals and appalling revelations of racism and rank misogyny piling up by the day go right to the top of Reform UK. asserted
sleaze → pile → UK
“Nigel Farage is incapable of taking responsibility and getting his house in order because he himself shares culpability.” asserted
he → take → culpability
Speaking earlier in the week, Farage said that while Reform carries out vetting “you can’t vet people for what they say in the future”. asserted
they → speak → future
In a statement to ITV, Reform said: “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 → say → vetting
However good the vetting, one cannot vet a future comment. asserted
one → vet → comment
We always respect due process of investigations and whilst these are ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases.” asserted
it → respect → cases
On Friday, Alan Feeney resigned as a Reform councillor for Solihull and Birmingham after racist comments he had made were uncovered in the investigation. asserted
he → resign → investigation
ITV 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. asserted
% → reveal → campaign
In a subsequent Facebook post, 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
He added: “My remarks were wrong, offensive and completely unacceptable. asserted
remarks → add → ?
They do not reflect the standards that the public rightly expects from an elected representative, and I take full responsibility for what I said.” asserted
I → reflect → what
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