Bromley Reform councillor Dean Miller resigns after ITV undercover report alleges racist remarks

Centre · 1Dean Miller, a Reform UK councillor in Bromley, south-east London, has resigned from the party after an ITV undercover investigation allegedly recorded him making racist remarks, according to the Evening Standard, which cites the party and the broadcaster. 1 Centre · 1Miller was filmed while campaigning for Reform in the Makerfield by-election. ITV says he claimed London had been "ethnically cleansed" and described local black children involved in vandalism as "animals". 1 Mixed · 2He was also recorded saying "Apparently King Charles is a Muslim" and, in the Mirror's transcript, "cut the c***'s head off". He was asked what he would do about migrants crossing the Channel and said "I'll take them out bruv". 2 1

Centre · 1Miller told ITV he had been heavily medicated at the time because of a chronic pain condition. The Standard says he was elected in May and is now listed as an independent on Bromley Council's website. 1 Left · 1Miller was one of several Reform figures in the first clips from ITV's year-long investigation, "Undercover: A Year In Reform". Alan Feeney, deputy mayor of Solihull, was filmed calling Asian homeowners "parasites" and saying no more than 1% of the British population can be non-white. He has said he left Reform "for personal reasons". 3 Left · 1The Guardian reports that three councillors have left the party. Chris Whelan said he resigned on 12 October on personal and health grounds, and the party said it was investigating. 3

Mixed · 2Reform said that where members, activists and councillors had clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations had begun and some people had been suspended. It said it had improved its vetting but a handful of people who do not share its values will initially get through, and that "one cannot vet a future comment" when someone is "entrapped" by an undercover reporter. 2 1 Mixed · 2Reform also accused ITV and Hardcash Productions of "extreme methods of deception", saying an undercover journalist used altered identification documents and a false address to get into its headquarters. It said not everyone covertly recorded is a Reform member. Deputy leader Richard Tice suggested one person filmed was a "Tory plant". 3 1 Mixed · 2Labour chair Bridget Phillipson called the revelations "truly sickening" and said Nigel Farage "can't shrug these latest revelations off as being a few bad apples". She said every Reform member found to have made such comments must be thrown out. 3 1

Left · 2Farage has postponed a major announcement planned for Essex on Thursday as the party tries to contain further expected revelations, including footage from Reform's London headquarters. The full 90-minute film airs on 18 October at 10.20pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player. 3 2 Left · 1The Guardian says the row comes as Reform has been stalling in the polls and faces other problems, including a separate undercover investigation into discussion of a way to secure foreign donations and a standards inquiry into a £5m gift to Farage from Christopher Harborne. 3 Right · 1Reuters, carried by the Straits Times, reports that the footage also included a candidate discussing burying pork chops to stop a new mosque being built, another using a derogatory term for Pakistanis and making explicit sexual comments about a fellow member, and a councillor saying he wanted to train young men in military tactics to round up immigrants. It adds that police are investigating Reform over possible offences under party-donation laws, which the party denies, and that Reform has slipped to second place in polls behind Labour under Prime Minister Andy Burnham. 4