Watchdog demands Reform UK answer for racist and sexist remarks caught on camera

Britain's equality watchdog has formally challenged Nigel Farage's Reform UK over what it saw on camera. The Equality and Human Rights Commission confirmed it wrote to the party after ITV aired *Undercover: A Year in Reform* in October, asking what Reform is doing to comply with the Equality Act.

The commission said it acted on complaints filed in the documentary's wake alleging unlawful activity under the Equality Act 2010, including concerns about racial and sexual remarks by councillors, would-be councillors and members. In its statement, the EHRC said it assesses every complaint carefully and will take action where appropriate, adding that political parties must avoid discrimination or harassment on grounds of race, religion or belief and sex.

The footage was ugly. Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, was recorded calling Asian homeowners 'parasites', making Islamophobic remarks and claiming no more than 1% of the British population can be non-white. Other candidates were filmed voicing extreme violence and deeply misogynistic and racist views, including a Bromley councillor calling for King Charles to be killed and another councillor making disturbing sexual comments about female colleagues.

The documentary also turned the lens inward. Reform MP Sarah Pochin was shown calling the party 'chauvinistic' and describing it as riddled with 'alpha male shit'. Farage has insisted Reform's vetting has improved greatly since then.

The watchdog's move lands weeks after it wrote to the Greens in England and Wales, seeking detail on a new policy equating Zionism with racism and calling for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state.

Reform is not backing down. A party spokesperson said: 'We are confident we have fully complied with our obligations under the Equality Act. There is no room for racism in Reform UK.' The party previously reported ITV and its reporters to police and has threatened separate civil legal action against the broadcaster.