Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, has launched a fierce criticism of ITV, alleging that one of the broadcaster’s undercover reporters falsely claimed to share the military background of a Reform member.
According to Yusuf, the Reform member invited the undercover reporter for a drink and opened up about “deeply personal” experiences from his time serving on the front line.
The Reform member later said he felt “violated” after discovering that the man was actually working for ITV.
In a post on X, Yusuf wrote: “I want to tell you about one of the people ITV psychologically damaged, who does not appear in any documentary.
“He is a Reform member in Portsmouth. He served as a Royal Marine in Afghanistan and Iraq, with distinction. One of ITV’s undercover reporters told him they shared the same military background.
“That was a lie. Believing him, the Marine invited him for a drink.”
Yusuf continued: “They spent hours discussing their ‘shared’ service. He revealed deeply personal stories from the front line, believing he was speaking to someone who had endured the same experiences.
“He has since discovered that the man sitting opposite him was an actor carrying a hidden camera, sent by a television company to damage the party he volunteers for. Violated. That is the word he used, and I am not going to soften it.
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“A man who put his life on the line for this country had his most private memories extracted through deception for a television programme.”
The politician added: “ITV should be ashamed.”
His comments came after Yusuf disclosed that Reform had referred ITV to the police over the undercover investigation. He said the party was also reporting individual journalists, alleging that they may have breached fraud and election laws while producing the documentary.
Yusuf said: “We have reported multiple ITV journalists and their board of directors to the police, and will be taking legal action against all of them.
“Journalists are supposed to report the news. These ones set out to create it.”
He added: “We will pursue this through the courts relentlessly. I want to be frank about why we feel so strongly: Many Reform staff members and volunteers were psychologically manipulated and damaged by ITV’s undercover reporters.”
An ITV spokesperson said: “ITV stands by its journalism. The programme Undercover: A Year In Reform was produced in compliance with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, relevant laws, and its broadcast is in the public interest. All journalists were instructed to operate within this framework and did so under the supervision of the programme’s producers. Should the police get in touch, we would fully cooperate.”
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