A Reform UK mayor is under police investigation after allegedly showing naked images of himself to a female colleague, it has been reported.
The woman was left feeling “shocked, embarrassed and humiliated” after being shown the images of Hull and East Yorkshire mayor Luke Campbell, 39, in front of another work colleague, the report claimed.
She also told The Observer that she was forced out of her job shortly after the incident occurred in May.
Reform UK released a statement disputing the accusations, saying they have come from a “disgruntled employee”.
The paper reported that the woman was laughed at when she was left “visibly embarrassed” after being “deliberately exposed to naked and sexualised images” on a computer screen in the office by Campbell, a former boxer who won a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012. He was elected as mayor of the authority in 2025.
She said: “In my view, this was unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which violated my dignity and created a humiliating, degrading and offensive working environment.”
Three weeks after the alleged cyberflashing incident, the woman, who had accepted a permanent role, was told via an eight-minute Teams call that the offer had been withdrawn, it is claimed.
Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (Heyca) told The Observer a police investigation is underway although it is understood Campbell was interviewed under caution by Humberside police earlier this month. No arrests or charges have been made.
A Heyca spokesman said: “As with all public authorities, the combined authority has a standards process that can be engaged to deal with complaints about members and a complaints procedure that can be used to deal with complaints about officers. The standards process and the complaints procedure must be carried out in a fair and independent manner.”
A Reform spokesperson responded: “Luke firmly denies the allegations. They come from a disgruntled employee attempting to leverage a settlement in a meritless workplace dispute.”
It comes after Reform had a tumultuous week in which an undercover report from ITV showed members of the party alleging it has a sexist culture.
The year-long investigation featured footage that captured several of the party’s councillors and candidates using racist and sexist language.
Robert Jenrick was forced to deny the party is sexist after his fellow MP Sarah Pochin was seen on camera complaining about the treatment of women within the party.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP described Reform as “so f***ing chauvinistic”, telling an undercover reporter: “I go out on all the shows, and go: ‘Oh no, it’s lovely, oh they’re all so welcoming.’ S**t… they just exclude you if you’re a woman… It’s really tough being a girl with all of this alpha male s**t going on.”
Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesman, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That’s not my experience of Reform.”
He added: “I’ve spoken to Sarah many times. We are colleagues and friends and she knows that she can always rely on me.
“But it’s not my experience that the party has problems of that kind.”
Councillors were also seen on camera using sexist and racist language, and in one excerpt black children were referred to as “animals”, and another Reform official said his area had become “infested” with Asian families. The party has more than 2,000 councillors across the country.
Jenrick said Reform had acted to “suspend or remove” councillors who were filmed by ITV making racist comments.
He added: “In all political parties there are bad individuals. The test, actually, of a leader and a party is: how do you deal with these things when they arise? And you have to take them on a case-by-case basis. You can’t just throw people under the bus unfairly.
“But the individuals that you’re referring to today were suspended or were asked to resign, and that has happened.”
Reform UK has insisted there is “no room for racism” in its ranks, while the party’s leader Nigel Farage said the ITV investigation was carried out “because the establishment frankly want us out of the picture”.
Of the now suspended councillors, Reform said: “Where members, activists and councillors have clearly behaved inappropriately, investigations have commenced. In some cases, there have been suspensions and due process must be followed.
“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. This is the same for all organisations.”