Reform Suspends an Activist and Says It Is Suing ITV
The party has suspended Jason Powell, who has applied to be one of its parliamentary candidates, over undercover footage in which he reportedly says “you cannot be Muslim and British, it’s like oil and water” and that migrants arriving illegally should be held in “concentration camps”. A spokesman says the party is pursuing legal action against the broadcaster and the production company. The documentary airs tonight.
The legal action is the hardest new fact here, and it is a change of approach: for most of the week the party answered on process, saying a handful of people who do not share its values occasionally get through vetting. It is now contesting the method in court while an internal investigation runs. Two sitting councillors in the London borough of Hounslow are also under investigation. One, David Kerr, is recorded advocating machine-gunning thousands of men involved in grooming gangs; the other, Adam Parkins, suggests that as prime minister he would hold “Sunday morning executions in the Downing Street rose garden”. Mr Parkins defended himself directly, saying that advocating the death penalty for men who systematically groomed and raped girls is a legitimate opinion; Mr Kerr has been approached for comment. Labour’s party chair said “bad apples don’t fall far from the tree” and that the Reform leader “is incapable of taking responsibility… because he himself shares culpability”. The footage itself has not been independently seen, which is why it is reported here as it is attributed.