A Bromley councillor is facing cross-party calls to resign his council seat after undercover footage showed him making racist remarks and calling for the King to be beheaded.
Councillor Dean Miller, who was elected as a Reform UK councillor in Bromley, was secretly filmed by an ITV Exposure investigation while campaigning. He has since resigned from Reform UK and now sits as an Independent — but political figures across the London Borough of Bromley say he must leave the council entirely.
The footage, captured during a year-long undercover operation, showed Miller claiming that King Charles III was secretly a Muslim and calling for him to be killed. He was also recorded claiming that white people had been “ethnically cleansed out of London”, making complaints about Nigerian communities in Bromley, and describing local black children in abusive terms.
Miller told reporters he was heavily medicated for a chronic pain condition at the time the footage was recorded. He has not disputed that he is the person in the recordings.
The investigation
The footage forms part of “Undercover: A Year In Reform”, a 90-minute documentary produced by Hardcash Productions for ITV Exposure. Journalists spent a year following Reform UK campaigners across England and Wales during local elections and parliamentary by-election campaigns in 2025 and 2026.
Miller was filmed while campaigning at the Makerfield by-election. The investigation captured several other Reform figures making controversial remarks: Alan Feeney, a Solihull councillor, was recorded making derogatory comments about Asian residents, while Chris Whelan discussed blocking mosque plans. Both have since left the party — Feeney citing personal reasons and Whelan pointing to personal and health grounds.
Reform UK said investigations had begun into the findings and that some individuals had been suspended. The party maintained that its vetting procedures had been improved, while acknowledging that unsuitable people could occasionally pass through them. It also stressed that disciplinary proceedings must follow due process.
The revelations prompted responses from across Westminster. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson called for expulsions, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey condemned the footage. A Conservative spokesman said the episode showed Nigel Farage had failed in his promise to professionalise the party.
The calls to go
In Bromley, the response has been unusually united. Political parties across the borough have demanded Miller’s immediate resignation from public office, arguing that the remarks captured on film are incompatible with representing local residents.
The distinction matters: resigning from a party and resigning from the council are separate decisions. As an Independent, Miller retains his seat, his allowance and his vote on council business. His critics argue that someone recorded making the remarks attributed to him cannot credibly continue to serve any constituents — let alone the diverse communities of Bromley he was filmed discussing.
Councillors can only be removed from office in limited circumstances under current law — principally through disqualification following certain criminal convictions, bankruptcy, or prolonged non-attendance. Short of that, a councillor who refuses to resign can only be removed by voters at the next election. That legal reality is why the pressure is political rather than procedural: the aim is to make his position untenable.
What the defence means
Miller’s explanation — that he was heavily medicated for a chronic pain condition — raises questions that go beyond this case. Strong pain medication can affect judgment and behaviour, and his account deserves fair consideration as the facts are established.
But it also raises a separate question about fitness for public office. If medication can produce the behaviour shown in the footage, critics will ask whether that itself is compatible with the responsibilities of an elected councillor. Neither Miller’s explanation nor the footage alone settles that question — it is one his fellow councillors and, ultimately, Bromley’s voters will have to weigh.
A wider problem for Reform
The documentary lands at an awkward moment for Reform UK, which has been working to present itself as a professional, election-ready party. The footage suggests that beneath the national messaging, some local campaigners hold views far outside what the party publicly espouses — and that its vetting has not always caught them.
This is not the first undercover investigation to embarrass the party. A Channel 4 News investigation in September 2026 exposed senior Reform figures discussing potential breaches of party funding law. Each episode feeds the same criticism: that rapid expansion has outpaced the party’s ability to control who campaigns in its name.
For Bromley, though, the national picture is secondary. The borough’s political leaders want one outcome: Dean Miller’s departure from the council chamber. Whether he goes voluntarily or serves out his term as an isolated Independent, the row has already damaged trust between the borough’s representatives and the residents they serve.
London Streets has been covering the Met’s Your Party database probe and the Sarah Helm Palestine Action assessment this week.
