The key facts
- ITV News carried out a year of undercover filming inside Reform UK; a reporter was advised to delete posts about Tommy Robinson and to stand as a councillor
- Former candidate Alex Lomas says he failed vetting twice but was invited to stand; Reform denies he failed vetting
- Jenrick speaks of 'rotten apples' in all parties; Labour demands explanations from Farage
ITV undercover filming raises questions about candidate vetting
Reform UK is facing new questions about its candidate vetting procedures after undercover filming by ITV News that was carried out over the course of a year. In the footage, the local chairman of the party's branch in Chester, Ian Frost, advises an undercover reporter to delete social media posts in support of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and then suggests he apply to stand as a councillor. Frost described the meeting as the 'first stage' of vetting. He himself told ITV that he had believed the reporter to be a genuine candidate, gave him 'the benefit of the doubt', and that it was unfair to judge on one conversation; he added that he has since left the party for unrelated reasons.
Lomas's claims and the party's position
In another clip, former candidate Alex Lomas claims he failed the party's vetting twice, including because of reposts of Robinson, but a few days after the second rejection received a letter saying he had passed vetting, followed by an invitation to stand. He stood as a candidate in the local elections in Oldham in May but did not win. The BBC was unable to reach Lomas, and he did not respond to ITV's requests. Reform denies that Lomas failed vetting at all. The party said that 'from time to time individuals who do not share our values initially pass vetting', adding that this is 'the same for all organisations'.
Reactions from Farage, Jenrick and Labour
This follows footage shown on Wednesday evening in which Reform councillors and candidates made racist, violent and sexist remarks. The party said that 'there is no place for racism in Reform UK' and accused ITV of 'extreme methods of deception'. MP Robert Jenrick told the BBC that there are 'rotten apples' in all parties, that he did not like what he heard in the film, but that the party acted quickly by suspending or pausing those involved. Nigel Farage previously told BBC Look East that the party vets 'to much higher standards than others', but that 'you cannot vet future comments'. Two years ago he promised to vet candidates 'more rigorously'. Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson called the revelations 'shocking' and demanded that Farage explain why he had allegedly defended 'an out-and-out racist'.
Mayoral candidate Chris Parry and Sarah Pochin's remarks
In the film, Farage decides that the controversial mayoral candidate Dr Chris Parry — who said that then deputy prime minister David Lammy should 'go back to the Caribbean' — should apologise but should not be dropped. The party's communications director Ed Sumner, in a conversation without Farage, calls Parry an 'out-and-out racist' who 'needs to go', and in Farage's presence suggests that Farage is 'defending' him; Farage replies: 'That's showing a bit of contrition.' After apologising to Lammy in January, Parry remained the mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent until being suspended in March following comments about a Jewish voluntary patrol service. Parry told the BBC that there had been no investigation and that he had left the party, adding that his tweets concerned reparations and failures by the police and government. Also, MP Sarah Pochin says on the recording that the party needs 'women press officers' because there is 'a problem with men' there. Jenrick called her a 'valued colleague' but said that, in his experience, the party has no such problems.
Image source, EPA
