DENIES ALLEGATIONS: Reform UK Mayor Luke Campbell. Picture: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Hull’s three MPs have written to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling on him to suspend Mayor Luke Campbell from the party amid a police investigation into his conduct.
Mr Campbell, the Reform UK Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, is reportedly the subject of a police investigation into alleged harassment over claims that he showed a female member of the authority’s staff “naked and sexualised” images of himself.
He denies the allegations.
Other allegations have emerged of bullying, intimidation, threats of physical violence, racist abuse, homophobia, breaches of confidentiality and failures to provide a safe working environment involving staff at Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA), which he leads.
In the letter, the city’s Labour MPs Diana Johnson, Emma Hardy and Karl Turner, say it is “best practice” to suspend party membership in such circumstances. The MPs also say Mr Campbell should step aside from his mayoral duties – “for the good of HEYCA” – while the investigation takes place.
The letter, which was sent on November 4, said: “We write regarding extremely worrying developments over the past few weeks involving allegations against the Reform UK Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire Luke Campbell.
“Over two weeks ago, media reports revealed that Mayor Campbell is under police investigation concerning allegations about his personal conduct in the workplace – including an allegation of cyberflashing. As you will be aware, cyberflashing is defined in UK criminal law as a non-contact sexual offence. As such, these allegations need to be taken seriously, and we commend the bravery of those who have come forward.
“The media also reported on wider allegations of a toxic working culture at Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA). This included bullying, threats of violence, racism, homophobia, sexism and conduct that has made a number of women staff feel uncomfortable and degraded.
“In light of the seriousness of the allegations made against Luke Campbell, potentially involving criminal offences, we would have expected Reform UK to have taken some form of action.
“When serious criminal allegations are made against a sitting elected representative, it is becoming the modern best practice among mainstream political parties to impose an administrative suspension from party membership until the matter has been thoroughly investigated – and resolved one way or the other.
“This is the usual practice in our party and is common within public sector organisations. In the Labour Party, an administrative suspension from membership would ordinarily be imposed in circumstances like these, and a suspension from employment is also common within public sector organisations. It protects all parties involved and is a neutral act – in no way a determination of guilt. We are very surprised that this has not happened in this case.”
The letter notes that the leaders of HEYCA’s constituent local authorities – Hull and East Riding councils – share the MPs’ concerns and have also called on Mayor Campbell to step aside until the investigation is concluded – as has Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison, a member of HEYCA’s executive board.
Mr Evison has also written to Alan Menzies, interim chief executive at HEYCA, calling for an “urgent strategic briefing” on a range of issues including the authority’s response to and handling of the investigation.
“With Luke Campbell evidently rejecting the public calls for him to stand aside from his Mayoral role, made by these three senior members of HEYCA, we are writing to ask what you intend to do as the Leader of Reform UK,” the MPs wrote.
“Firstly, will you act to suspend Luke Campbell as a member of Reform UK, at least until the police investigation into his conduct is completed? Secondly, do you believe that Luke Campbell should continue representing Reform UK as Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire while under police investigation? We look forward to hearing from you about any action that you intend to take.”
Mr Campbell, a former professional boxer and Olympic Gold Medallist, was elected as the region’s first directly elected mayor in May 2025. He was elected for a four-year term overseeing an initial annual budget of £60m.