A London representative has refused to back down after undercover recordings captured him calling for extreme punishments against convicted child abusers.
Hounslow councillor Adam Parkins has unreservedly stood by his comments advocating capital punishment for perpetrators of child grooming gangs following a covert television investigation.
Executions suggested for rape gang bosses
Secret recordings made during a documentary broadcast on Sunday showed Mr Parkins suggesting that those responsible for systematic child abuse should be executed in the Downing Street rose garden.
The garden serves as shared greenery for numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street, housing the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.
The west London representative was captured on tape outlining how he would personally carry out the sentence.
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.
Responding after the program aired, Mr Parkins maintained that severe penalties for child rapists align with official party policy.
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.
Adam Parkins, Hounslow councillor
Investigation closed with no action taken
Fellow Feltham North ward representative David Kerr was also filmed supporting lethal force against grooming gang offenders.
We just f****** line them up on the wall … line up a few thousand grooming gang perpetrators and machine gun them down.
Mr Kerr offered no response to a request for comment.
An internal inquiry conducted by Reform UK into the statements made by both Hounslow councillors has reportedly finished with no further action taken.
Strategy focused on election victory
Both politicians were secretly recorded discussing campaign strategy and how hardline policies should be handled before polling day.
Mr Parkins suggested that controversial measures should remain undisclosed until after taking office.
The stuff that people feel uncomfortable with, don’t even announce it, just do it, just make the changes in the background.
Mr Kerr similarly argued that the party needed to appeal broadly across different regions to secure a parliamentary majority.
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.
Gervais comedy sketch cited in defence
A third Hounslow councillor, Conrad Brown of Hanworth Village ward, was also featured in the undercover sting documentary, entitled “Undercover: A Year in Reform”.
He was filmed during the Makerfield by-election campaign in north-west England, where opponent Andy Burnham ultimately won the contest before going on to become Prime Minister.
Mr Brown told hidden reporters during the operation that he had previously made private online comments regarding slavery that could cause issues during candidate vetting.
I did once say that it’d be quite fun to have some slaves, which doesn’t go down that well. I mean, it would be. I think slavery is wrong but if I was allowed slaves I’d totally have some slaves.
Speaking out after the allegations were broadcast, Mr Brown stated that the undercover reporter operated as an agent provocateur attempting to entrap activists over many hours.
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.
Royal comments lead to resignation
In a separate development, rival political groups demanded the resignation of Bromley councillor Dean Miller after he was filmed claiming King Charles was secretly a Muslim.
Mr Miller subsequently resigned from Reform UK and now sits as an independent councillor in south-east London.