Labour minister says investigation into Reform racism is a ‘good reminder’ of what is the central political question facing Britain

Labour minister Kanishka Narayan has said it is ‘hard for him to seperate the personal from the political’ after being asked to comment on ITV’s investigation exposing Reform councillors for their racist and hateful views.

Three councillors have already stood down from the party, which said it was conducting an investigation over the first revelations from an ITV undercover investigation that aired on Wednesday.

Further damaging revelations for Reform from ITV’s year long investigation are expected, with the initial report showing Alan Feeney, a Reform councillor and deputy mayor of Solihull, calling Asian homeowners “parasites,” and stating that “no more than 1% of [the] British population can be non-white”.

Other candidates were recorded making comments of extreme violence and sharing deeply misogynistic and racist views, including a Bromley councillor calling for King Charles to be killed and another councillor who made disturbing sexual and misogynistic comments about female colleagues.

Appearing on ITV’s Peston programme, Narayan, Minister for AI, said: “On occasions like this, it’s quite hard for me to seperate the personal and political.”

He went on to add: “The thing I take away from it is, it’s not just an isolated incident, an example in Bromley, an example in Solihull an example in Hounslow, and example in Wales, not just individual examples, senior branch officials, treasurers of the party branch, staff members, the Senedd candidate, to me when you combine the personal and political to me it’s really the central question in British politics.

“Which is, are people like me able to be a part of a collective national identity and have security of stay here or not, so to me it’s a good reminder of what we’re fighting for is the central political question facing Britain.