Reform councillor resigns after being filmed making ‘offensive’ racist remarks

A Reform councillor who was filmed by an undercover journalist calling Asian homeowners “parasites” has resigned over his “completely unacceptable” remarks.

Alan Feeney, who held posts on Solihull Council and Birmingham City Council, was one of several Reform members featured in an ITV investigation, and was also recorded saying no more than 1 per cent of the UK population should be non-white.

In a post on Facebook, he announced he had stepped down from his post, saying: “My remarks were wrong, offensive and completely unacceptable. They do not reflect the standards that the public rightly expects from an elected representative, and I take full responsibility for what I said.

“The comments do not reflect my true beliefs or opinions, particularly of the communities mentioned in the report. These are communities I have supported countless times in my personal and professional life over many years, many of whom I have been lucky enough to call friends.”

He continued: “There is no excuse for my comments. With responsibility comes accountability, and it is for that reason that I have resigned every post I hold on both Solihull borough council and Birmingham city council.”

Mr Feeney had been appointed deputy mayor of Solihull after winning seats in the Shard End ward of Birmingham and the Castle Bromwich ward of Solhill metropolitan borough council.

He added: “Byelections will be held on a timescale laid out by those councils in the due course. I hope that in time these councils, and the communities they serve can heal and move on.”

After ITV published the first part of their investigation on Wednesday, Mr Feeney said he was leaving Reform for “personal reasons” but would remain as an independent councillor.

He has now resigned, while the Ministry of Justice has also suspended him from his job with the prison service, describing his comments as “despicable”.

The footage, part of a documentary by ITV Exposure to be screened on Sunday night, followed Reform UK election candidates and councillors across England and Wales during the May local elections and four by-election campaigns in 2025 and 2026.

It also recorded Mr Feeney saying of Asian people: “Drag them out of their homes, stick them on planes and f*** them off to Pakistan.”

Speaking about a female Reform candidate, another Reform male councillor, Chris Whelan, said: “If she was my daughter, it would still be bath night on a Thursday”.

Councillor Whelan also resigned from Reform for personal and health reasons. In a statement, responding to the issues raised in the ITV documentary, Solihull Borough Council said: “There is no place for this disgusting racist discriminatory and misogynistic language in public life, and these comments do not represent the values of Solihull Council or its residents.

“We have received a resignation from Mr Whelan and will be investigating the complaints made against councillor Feeney”.

Mr Whelan has been approached for comment.

A spokesperson for Reform UK said: “Not all individuals covertly recorded by ITV are members of Reform UK. Where members, activists and councillors have clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations have commenced. In some cases, there have been suspensions and due process must be followed.”

Reform UK also said it had improved its vetting procedures “but from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting. This is the same for all organisations.”

The investigation came “at a time when Nigel Farage and other members of Reform are being targeted by individuals who wished them harm and caused a security issue which was documented during the course of the undercover investigation”, but was not included in the report, the party said.

In September 2024, Nigel Farage promised he would improve the party’s vetting process saying “we don’t want extremists, we don’t want bigots, we don’t want people who think that way, because we represent the silent, decent majority of this great country that we live in.”