Reform councillor quits over offensive remarks
Alan Feeney, deputy mayor of Solihull and Reform UK councillor, resigns from all council roles after being filmed making racist remarks.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Alan Feeney has resigned as deputy mayor of Solihull and stepped down from two council roles.
- He was caught on hidden camera making offensive remarks about Asian homeowners during an ITV News investigation.
- The Ministry of Justice suspended him from his prison service job, labeling his comments as despicable.
- Feeney issued a public apology on Facebook, stating his remarks do not reflect his true beliefs.
Alan Feeney, a local politician representing Reform UK and serving as the deputy mayor of Solihull, has resigned from all of his official posts. This includes stepping down as a councillor on both Solihull Council and Birmingham City Council following an undercover investigation by ITV News that exposed offensive remarks made in the lead-up to the local council elections in May.
According to reports, Feeney was recorded during the covert investigation using derogatory language toward Asian homeowners. Furthermore, he was documented stating that no more than 1% of the United Kingdom population should consist of non-white individuals. These revelations led to his departure from the Reform UK party following a mutually agreed decision between both parties.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Aside from his political involvement, Feeney maintained a career within the prison service. The Ministry of Justice responded to the controversy by suspending him from his employment and describing the documentary footage as despicable. Register of interests records from July confirmed that he held the position of a custodial manager, which represents the highest-ranking uniformed officer role within the HM Prison and Probation Service.
This political controversy highlights the growing scrutiny surrounding candidate vetting processes within emerging political factions in the UK, such as Reform UK. Incidents involving high-profile local representatives behaving in a manner contradictory to public trust place immense pressure on party leadership to enforce stricter background checks and accountability measures to protect their political standing and community relations.
Following the public backlash, Feeney published a statement on his Facebook page offering a sincere and unreserved apology. He acknowledged that the comments captured on tape were wrong, offensive, and completely unacceptable, while expressing remorse to the affected communities. Nonetheless, he argued that the remarks did not represent his true opinions, pointing to more than ten years of dedicated public service as a reflection of his actual character.
Political background records show that Feeney defected from the Conservative Party to join Reform UK last year, subsequently winning a seat representing the Shard End ward on Birmingham City Council in May. A spokesperson for Reform Solihull addressed his departure by noting that he had spent the vast majority of his political career as a Conservative representative and only joined their group briefly, emphasizing that his views did not align with the organization.
Source: BBC Politics
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