WARNING: This story contains disturbing language
Homophobic and racist comments allegedly made by a member of Reform UK whilst campaigning to elect Nigel Farage as MP for Clacton were recorded by an undercover Channel 4 reporter.
Reform UK said anyone who made “unacceptable comments” would not take part in any future campaigns for Mr Farage.
The secret recordings contain conversations between people believed to be organisers of Reform UK.
A man associated with the party described the Pride flag flying on a police vehicle as a “degenerate flag” and appeared to make homophobic remarks.
“Why is the old bill promoting such crap?” he asked the group.
He has repeatedly suggested members of the LGBT+ community are paedophiles and criticised police for attending Pride.
He added that if Reform UK were to form a future government, “our police officers would become paramilitary and not police” and “the noose should be brought back”.
He also told an undercover reporter why Reform UK chose him to stand in Clacton: “Look around you. The real England. You know what I mean. The real England.”
“Being a foreigner in London is different to being in your own country,” he added, “when you say hello to someone” it feels like “you’re going to get stabbed in the face with a knife”.
BBC News has been unable to confirm the man’s identity and is attempting to contact him.
During the conversation, Reform UK senior campaigner Rob Bates said the party had spent “double” the legal spending limit during the campaign to get Mr Farage elected.
Bates later told Channel 4 News that he had been joking and made it clear that he was not responsible for campaign finances.
Reform UK told the programme that campaign spending was “within legal spending limits”.
Footage broadcast by Channel 4 shows Andrew Parker, believed to be Mr Farage’s campaigner, making further racist, homophobic and Islamophobic comments, including apparently using racist language towards Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian descent.
Mr Parker also described Islam as “the most abominable cult” and suggested army recruits should undergo “target practice” firing at boats bringing illegal immigrants to the UK.
At one point Mr Parker told voters that reform meant “getting all the Muslims out of the mosques and turning them into Wetherspoons”.
During the campaign, he advised undercover reporters to use the word “illegal” when discussing immigration, especially when speaking to non-white households.
Prior to the footage being released, Mr Parker said in a statement to Channel 4: “Neither Nigel Farage nor the Reform Party are aware of my personal views on immigration.”
Mr Parker said: “I have not debated immigration with Nigel Farage or the Reform Party and any comments I made on the recording are my own personal views on the subjects on which I comment.”
“I therefore apologise deeply if my personal views have negatively affected or brought Nigel Farage and the Reform Party into disrepute as this was not my intention.”
Speaking at a Reform UK event in Boston, Lincolnshire, leader Nigel Farage said the party was not “perfect”.
“There were one or two candidates who said things that they shouldn’t have said,” he said. “For the most part, they were just talking like normal people.”
“They are not mainstream Oxbridge thinkers, we understand that. In some cases, one or two will disappoint us and we will sack them.”
“Well, compare that to the modern-day Tory international price fixing and gambling ring.”
The party’s chairman at Hubbards Bridge Community Centre, Richard Tice, also said the racist comments were “inappropriate”.
“We have issued a statement and it’s all clearly stated in the statement,” he said.
“The reality is that our movement is growing rapidly, and when you have unpaid volunteers, some will behave inappropriately. And then they’ll leave.”
Peter Harris, campaigns manager for Reform UK in Clacton, said he was “appalled by these reported comments.”
“Any party participating in such a short campaign will have to deal with the challenge of working with many activists they’ve never met before,” Harris added.
“Individuals who make unacceptable comments or are identified as holding such views are not welcome in our campaign. We campaign to represent all electorates in Clacton.”
Find out about other general election candidates running in Clacton here.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the comments were “clearly racist” and argued the scandal was a test of Mr Farage’s leadership abilities.
“It is the leader’s role to change the party to make sure the culture is right and everyone in the party should understand those standards,” Sir Keir told BBC Breakfast.
“You have to ask the question: why are so many people who supported reform being put at risk in this way?” he added.
