Farage defends Reform vetting after councillors’ racist remarks filmed

Nigel Farage has defended Reform UK’s vetting after ITV published undercover recordings of its councillors and candidates making racist, violent and sexist remarks. The party leader says it screens people more rigorously than its rivals, but cannot predict what they will say after joining. Reform itself acknowledges that some people it considers unsuitable initially pass its checks. [1] [2]

In footage published on Wednesday, Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, called Asian families “absolute parasites” and said no more than 1% of Britain’s population should be non-white. ITV also reported offensive remarks by other councillors and candidates filmed during election campaigns in 2025 and 2026. [2]

“You can’t vet for future comments,” Farage told BBC Look East on Thursday. Asked whether Reform had a problem with vetting, he replied: “No, not at all. We actually vet to a much higher standard than the other parties.” He also suggested people could be provoked into saying offensive things. His comparison with other parties has not been established, nor has it been shown that provocation caused the remarks ITV published. [1]

Feeney joined Reform from the Conservatives in 2025, as Farage noted when responding to the footage. That history does not establish what Reform knew when it accepted him. ITV said Feeney had left the party but would remain a councillor as an independent. [2] [4]

Reform told ITV that investigations had begun and some people had been suspended. A local party spokesman separately told the BBC that no further action would be taken against Jamie Campbell, another councillor filmed, describing his remark about obstructing a proposed mosque as a joke in poor taste. [1] [2]