Farage secretly filmed urging candidate to 'take the f***ing deal'

Chris Parry's controversial social media history

Chris Parry, the former Reform UK mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent, posted on social media that David Lammy should go home to the Caribbean where his loyalty lies. ITV reports that the former Royal Navy officer also questioned the loyalty of eight other black and Asian politicians.

Parry issued a statement to ITV urging people to look at the original contexts of his tweets. He argued his posts concerned reparations and perceived failures by the police and government. He claimed he has the right to criticise those in power acting against British interests.

Senior staff admit to defending the indefensible

Ed Sumner described Chris Parry as clearly a racist during a Reform UK Christmas party. He told an undercover reporter he would have removed the candidate from the party months earlier if the decision had been his.

Sumner and then-Farage aide Dan Jukes discussed the demands of working in the party press operation at the same event. Jukes warned the reporter she would have to deal with damaging stories. Sumner acknowledged the challenge of defending the party position and stated staff had to defend the indefensible many times.

Sumner told ITV in response to the sting that nothing in the excerpts disclosed any wrongdoing or breaches of Reform UK policy. He added that he does not endorse extremism or bigotry.

Sarah Pochin alleges chauvinistic culture

Reform MP Sarah Pochin accused her party press officers of being chauvinistic. She stated that they exclude you if you are a woman. Pochin was the party's only female MP at the time of the recording.

Pochin described the party as being f*ing chauvinistic. She added that being a woman in the party was really tough amid what she called all of this alpha male s* going on.

Failures in candidate vetting and party conduct

The undercover investigation captured a councillor describing Asian homeowners as parasites and another suggesting the King should be beheaded for being secretly Muslim. Earlier footage showed Reform activists describing Asian people as parasites and black children as animals. Reform UK is facing a crisis following the undercover ITV sting.

An undercover reporter spoke to a member of the vetting team who described the approach as asking whether a prospective candidate was a f***ing lunatic. The documentary reports that Reform made candidate checks less stringent in summer 2025 to balance its reputation with freedom of expression. People who previously failed vetting were subsequently encouraged to reapply.

Alex Lomas, a campaigner for Reform in Greater Manchester, told an undercover reporter he failed the vetting process twice before being accepted. Lomas claimed he received a message saying he had passed vetting without changing anything and was asked to stand in Oldham. Reform councillor Gavin Beales was not suspended after being found registered on WhiteDate which discussed the survival of the white race. Beales stated he was inadvertently linked to the site and abhors racism.

Political fallout and party response

Labour party chair Bridget Phillipson described the footage as shocking and deeply disturbing. She demanded that Nigel Farage explain why he allegedly stood by the candidate. Chris Parry was eventually removed as a candidate after comparing a Jewish community neighbourhood watch to Islamists on horseback.

Parry was suspended months later pending an investigation over these comments. Parry told ITV there had never been an investigation and said he has since left the party. Reform has not published the results of any investigation.

Undercover investigation into Reform UK

The undercover investigation titled Undercover: A Year in Reform followed a year-long investigation inside Nigel Farage’s party. The documentary was clandestinely filmed by a reporter working in the party's press office and aired on Thursday 15 October 2026. ITV’s Exposure strand will feature the 90-minute documentary on Sunday 18 October at 10.20pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

The investigation raises questions about Nigel Farage’s repeated promises to remove bigots and extremists from the party. When Farage became an MP in July 2024 he pledged to professionalise the party. He promised that those few bad apples that have crept in will be gone.