Farage defends Reform's vetting after councillors filmed making racist comments
The Reform leader says "you can't vet for future comments", after undercover filming of party activists.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has defended his party's vetting process following undercover footage broadcast by ITV News. The footage showed some of the party's councillors and candidates using racist, violent and sexist language. Farage told BBC Look East that the party vets its candidates to a higher standard than other parties, but that you cannot predict future comments.
He insisted that Reform would take appropriate action following the broadcast, but added that no one can stop what people say in the future. The most egregious example in the footage was a Reform councillor from Solihull calling Asian homeowners "parasites." Two Reform candidates, Jamie Campbell and Chris Whelan, were also recorded discussing racist and sexist comments.
One of the candidates, Alan Feeney, has since resigned from the party, citing personal reasons. Farage promised that anyone who said such things would not be welcome in the party, but he acknowledged that you cannot vet for future comments.
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