Reform candidate filmed saying asylum seekers should be put in ‘concentration camps’

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Badshah, N. (2026, October 17). Reform candidate filmed saying asylum seekers should be put in ‘concentration camps’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/17/reform-candidate-filmed-saying-asylum-seekers-should-be-put-in-concentration-camps

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-17 · by Nadeem Badshah

Quick Summary

An undercover reporter recorded a Reform UK MP candidate suggesting Muslims cannot be British and advocating for placing asylum seekers in "concentration camps." This investigation by ITV revealed further instances of racism within the party, including derogatory language used against black children and Asian families. Reform UK has acknowledged these issues but maintains there is no tolerance for racism within their ranks, emphasizing ongoing internal investigations while refraining from commenting on specific cases publicly.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-17, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Jason Powell, a Reform UK activist and aspiring MP, was filmed by ITV News saying Muslims cannot be British, likening it to "oil and water." He also suggested that asylum seekers should be detained in "concentration camps" if they arrive illegally. The footage is part of an undercover investigation that has already criticized the party for "appalling behavior" and "extreme racism." Reform UK has suspended Powell from membership while investigating his remarks, which include advocating for extreme measures against illegal migrants and discussing controversial views on violence against criminal gangs. ITV plans to broadcast the full documentary on Sunday, potentially further scrutinizing the vetting procedures of Reform UK.

Written for “Reform Activist Controversial Remarks” on 2026-10-17, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly right (beta estimate) Confidence high 1 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article
Leaning: leans strongly right for article 87614 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-17

Story

📰 Reform Activist Controversial Remarks
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard · 0.93 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 20 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the same undercover footage of a Reform UK activist making similar controversial statements about Muslims and asylum seekers.”
Evening Standard · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 19 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe undercover footage of a Reform activist making controversial statements about Muslims and asylum seekers, with the same context of an ITV investigation and party response.”
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 5 of 37 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe different incidents within the same broader undercover investigation, involving distinct individuals making separate statements.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 10% hedged 2 of 20 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe two separate incidents involving different individuals making offensive statements as part of an undercover ITV investigation.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 19 📰 publisher trust 64
“While both articles describe investigations into Reform UK's candidate vetting practices, they report on different specific incidents and comments made by different individuals.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe different parts of an undercover investigation by ITV News but report on distinct incidents involving separate individuals making different statements.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 7% hedged 2 of 27 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe different parts of an ongoing investigation with multiple incidents involving various individuals.”
BBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 23 📰 publisher trust 69
“The articles describe different parts of an ongoing undercover investigation, but they do not report on the exact same incident or footage release.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 60
“Article A covers multiple candidates making various types of inappropriate remarks, while Article B focuses on a single Reform UK candidate's specific comments about asylum seekers and Muslims.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 29% hedged 4 of 14 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles describe different specific remarks made by different individuals in an undercover investigation but do not clearly refer to the exact same incident at the same time and place.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2000 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Nadeem Badshah
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 No further action will be taken against Sarah Helm, the wife of the prime minister’s national security adviser, after she was accused of supporting the banned protest group Palestine Action.
🔮 A would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”.
🔮 The Met Office said sightings could continue during clear skies until Tuesday.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Skies across the UK illuminated by the northern lights
🔮 The MP for Runcorn and Helsby in Cheshire bought the property two days after she submitted a written question on 15 June to the housing minister Matthew Pennycook, according to the Will Hayward newsletter.
🔮 The charge relates to activity alleged to have taken place between 31 May 2024 and 8 July this year, counter-terrorism police said.
🔮 Airlines will be blocked from charging parents extra to sit with their children on planes, according to government plans.
🔮 We are confident that we will manage to retrieve all the bodies.”
🔮 In May, the WHO declared the outbreak in the DRC and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern.
Also by Nadeem Badshah
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Nadeem Badshah →

Topics

British ITV Muslim Reform Reform UK

Subjects

Reform ORG · 10× British NORP · 3× ITV ORG · 3× Muslim NORP · 3× Reform UK ORG · 3× Asian NORP · 2× Birmingham GPE · 2× Feeney PERSON · 2× Islam ORG · 2× Solihull GPE · 2×

Narrative

Reform has said it had opened investigations where activists or members had “clearly behaved inappropriately”, adding there was “no room for racism” in the party. In footage due to be broadcast on Sunday, a Reform activist and aspiring MP, who has yet to be publicly identified, described himself as “pretty hardline about Islam”. He said: “If a Muslim’s prepared to de-convert, I’m happy.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 A would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

A would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”. uncertain
seekers → tell → camps
The comments were recorded as part of the undercover investigation by ITV that has already seen Reform accused of “appalling behaviour” and “extreme racism”. asserted
Reform → record → behaviour
Reform has said it had opened investigations where activists or members had “clearly behaved inappropriately”, adding there was “no room for racism” in the party. In footage due to be broadcast on Sunday, a Reform activist and aspiring MP, who has yet to be publicly identified, described himself as “pretty hardline about Islam”. He said: “If a Muslim’s prepared to de-convert, I’m happy. asserted
I → say → Islam
“But if they want to remain faithful to Islam, then this would be, I would have disagreements, especially with, um, I mean, as far as I understand, [Reform home affairs spokesperson] Zia Yusuf is a Muslim asserted
Yusuf → want → disagreements
… to me … you cannot be a Muslim and British … it’s like oil and water.” asserted
it → ’ → oil
Discussing people crossing the Channel in small boats, the same activist said: “In the first week of election, build concentration camps, and everyone who comes across on the Channel, you’re in there.” asserted
you → discuss → Channel
Excerpts from the investigation released earlier in the week included councillors and candidates within Reform using racist language. asserted
Excerpts → release → language
In one excerpt, black children were referred to as “animals”, while in another a Reform member said his area had become “infested” with Asian families. asserted
area → refer → families
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour party chair, said Nigel Farage’s response to the revelations showed he was “completely unfit to lead”. asserted
he → say → revelations
She said: “Bad apples don’t fall far from the tree. asserted
apples → say → tree
The sleaze, scandals and appalling revelations of racism and rank misogyny piling up by the day go right to the top of Reform UK. asserted
sleaze → pile → UK
“Nigel Farage is incapable of taking responsibility and getting his house in order because he himself shares culpability.” asserted
he → take → culpability
Speaking earlier in the week, Farage said that while Reform carries out vetting “you can’t vet people for what they say in the future”. asserted
they → speak → future
In a statement to ITV, Reform said: “Reform UK has improved and prioritised its vetting procedures, but from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting. asserted
who → say → vetting
However good the vetting, one cannot vet a future comment. asserted
one → vet → comment
We always respect due process of investigations and whilst these are ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases.” asserted
it → respect → cases
On Friday, Alan Feeney resigned as a Reform councillor for Solihull and Birmingham after racist comments he had made were uncovered in the investigation. asserted
he → resign → investigation
ITV revealed secretly recorded footage of Feeney making racist comments about Asian homeowners, calling them “parasites”, and stating that “no more than 1% of [the] British population can be non-white”, during a local election campaign. asserted
% → reveal → campaign
In a subsequent Facebook post, Feeney wrote: “There is no excuse for my comments. asserted
Feeney → write → 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.” asserted
I → come → council
He added: “My remarks were wrong, offensive and completely unacceptable. asserted
remarks → add → ?
They do not reflect the standards that the public rightly expects from an elected representative, and I take full responsibility for what I said.” asserted
I → reflect → what
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