Reform leader Nigel Farage has postponed a major announcement that was due to take place in Essex this morning after an ITV investigation aired last night showing party councillors and election candidates making graphic threats of extreme violence and expressing racist and misogynistic views. Three councillors have already stood down from the party, which said it was conducting an investigation over the first revelations from the ITV undercover investigation.More are expected from the undercover filming of senior Reform politicians and officials working at its UK headquarters.Farage has made repeated pledges over the last two years to rid Reform of “extremists” and “bigots” and introduce vetting. The party says it carries out vetting checks on everyone who wants to stand for election.However, the first clips from ITV’s year-long undercover investigation showed Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, calling Asian homeowners “parasites,” and stating that “no more than 1% of [the] British population can be non-white”.View image in fullscreenAlan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, was filmed calling Asian homeowners ‘parasites’ Photograph: ITVFeeney won seats on Birmingham city council and Solihull Metropolitan borough council and was then appointed deputy mayor of Solihull. He has announced that he has left Reform “for personal reasons”.
Other candidates were recorded making comments of extreme violence and sharing deeply misogynistic and racist views, including a Bromley councillor calling for King Charles to be killed and another councillor who made disturbing sexual and misogynistic comments about female colleagues.Feeney was filmed with other candidates who went on to become councillors, Jamie Campbell and Chris Whelan, talking about where a local mosque might be built. After they make extreme racist comments in the discussion, Feeney says: “Oh god, we’re all going to end up in the papers”.Chris Whelan announced he had resigned from Reform on 12 October “on personal and health grounds”. Campbell is still in post.View image in fullscreenChris Whelan has resigned from Reform this week Photograph: ITV
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