A Reform UK councillor has stood by comments made during a press sting in which he said he would personally execute rape gang victims if his party was elected to Downing Street.
Adam Parkins, a Hounslow councillor, was one of a host of Reform councillors, activists and party members covered by undercover reporters working for ITV News.
The west London elected representative was filmed saying that, if he was prime minister, he would support “Sunday morning rose garden executions” for grooming gang perpetrators.
The rose garden refers to the greenery shared by 10 and 11 Downing Street, the central London properties occupied by the prime minister and the chancellor respectively.
Mr Parkins is alleged to have told the broadcaster: “Give me a f****** pistol, and I'll walk behind them and go 'boom, boom, boom'...
“I would do that without f****** thinking for a second about it, and I’d go up and have my coffee.”
Mr Parkins, speaking since the report was broadcast, said wanting the death penalty for those found guilty of being part of child grooming gangs was a “perfectly legitimate opinion”.
Former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer pictured in the rose garden at 10 Downing Street in 2024
Getty
He said: “My comments referred strictly to those who participated in the child rape gangs.
“It is Reform UK’s policy that those involved in the rape gangs should face the ‘toughest possible sentence under British law’. That is my view.
“Advocating the death penalty for men who systematically groomed and raped young girls over many years in towns and cities across our country is a perfectly legitimate opinion.”
David Kerr, a Reform councillor in the same London borough, is said to have agreed with Mr Parkins when it came to punishing grooming gang members.
ITV recorded him saying: “We just f****** line them up on the wall … line up a few thousand grooming gang perpetrators and machine gun them down.”
Mr Kerr has not responded to a request for comment.
An investigation by Reform into Mr Parkins and Mr Kerr’s comments has reportedly concluded, leading to “no further action”.
Mr Parkins, who represents Feltham North ward, was also filmed suggesting it was better for Reform candidates not to mention what they would really do if they were elected.
He said: “The stuff that people feel uncomfortable with, don’t even announce it, just do it, just make the changes in the background.”
Mr Kerr, another Feltham North ward councillor, is also said to have claimed that Reform would be much more hard-line once in power, suggesting the party was aiming not to alienate voters before an election.
He reportedly said: “You need to seem palatable to everyone, to get them, to get the majority.
“There’s certain things that need to be done to turn this country around, that the general public here, I think, would accept. But the south would never accept it and we still need their votes.”
.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Hounslow Reform councillors David Kerr (left) and Adam Parkin (right) were featured in ITV’s undercover report
Hounslow Council / LDRS
A third Hounslow Reform councillor, Conrad Brown, also featured in the ITV documentary, “Undercover: A Year in Reform”, which aired on Sunday.
Mr Brown said his remark that he would “love to have some slaves” was based on a sketch by comedian Ricky Gervais.
The Hanworth Village ward councillor was secretly filmed making the remarks during the Makerfield by-election.
He was helping Reform campaign in the north-west of England constituency against Andy Burnham, who went on to win the contest and has since become Prime Minister.
Mr Brown allegedly told clandestine reporters that he had previously made some comments in private chat rooms that would raise questions if discovered by the party’s vetting process.
“I did once say that it’d be quite fun to have some slaves, which doesn’t go down that well,” he is recorded as saying.
“I mean, it would be. I think slavery is wrong but if I was allowed slaves I’d totally have some slaves.”
Mr Brown, speaking for the first time since the allegations were broadcast, said the undercover filming showed that he does not support slavery.
He said: “ITV’s undercover reporter acted as an agent provocateur, spending many hours with us during which time he made many comments that in retrospect were clearly aimed to entrap us.
“After several hours of illicit filming the only footage they have of me is a flippant comment, emulating a comedy sketch made by Ricky Gervais.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I do not condone slavery which I make clear in the recording and which any honest viewer of the footage would conclude.”
Seperately, there have been calls from rival political parties for Bromley councillor Dean Miller to resign his position following comments he made in the ITV sting alleging that King Charles was secretly a Muslim.
Mr Miller has since quit the party to sit as an independent on the south-east London council.