Reform UK suspends Jason Powell after filmed remarks about Muslims and asylum seekers
The aspiring parliamentary candidate was recorded saying Muslims could not be British and calling for people crossing the Channel to be put in concentration camps.
Reform UK has suspended activist and aspiring parliamentary candidate Jason Powell after ITV undercover footage recorded him saying Muslims could not be British and calling for people arriving by small boat to be put in concentration camps. The suspension was reported on 18 October, after the remarks became public in Britain.
The footage was part of a year-long ITV investigation into Reform UK, the Guardian reported. Powell was filmed at an event called Farage Fest, held to thank volunteers who helped party leader Nigel Farage win re-election as MP for Clacton. Powell said he had passed checks to become a Reform parliamentary candidate, according to the Guardian.
What Jason Powell said in the ITV footage
In footage described by the Evening Standard’s PA report, Powell called himself ‘pretty hardline about Islam’. Referring to Reform home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf, whom he understood to be Muslim, Powell said: ‘You cannot be a Muslim and British.’ He compared the two identities to ‘oil and water’. The remarks concern whether Muslims can belong to British society, including a senior figure in Powell’s own party.
Discussing Channel crossings, Powell called for concentration camps to be built in the first week of a Reform government and for everyone arriving across the Channel to be placed in them, the Evening Standard reported. The Daily Mail reported that he also said people who did not disclose their country of origin should remain in Britain for life. These were Powell’s proposed actions, as recorded in the undercover investigation.
Powell later told ITV that his views were those of British people generally and were not extremist, according to the Guardian. That was Powell’s characterisation of his remarks.
Reform UK’s suspension and vetting response
The Daily Mail reported that Reform UK was investigating Powell after the filming. Asked about his suspension, a party spokesman said investigations had begun where members, activists or councillors had ‘clearly behaved inappropriately’. The spokesman said some people had been suspended and that due process must be followed. The Evening Standard reported the party’s statement that there was ‘no room for racism’ within its ranks. The outcome of Powell’s investigation was not immediately clear.
Reform UK said it had improved and prioritised its vetting procedures, while acknowledging that some people who did not share its values could initially pass them, the Guardian reported. Farage said earlier in the week that vetting could not protect against what someone might say in the future. Powell’s claim that he had passed candidate checks raises questions about how the party screens prospective candidates.
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Sources and context
- Reform suspends 'you can't be Muslim and British' party activistDaily Mail
- Aspiring Reform MP who said ‘you cannot be Muslim and British’ suspendedThe Guardian (Ben Quinn, political correspondent)
- Reform activist says asylum seekers should be put in 'concentration camps'Evening Standard (PA byline)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.