Humberside Police have opened an inquiry into Luke Campbell, the 39-year-old Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority representing Reform UK, following a complaint that he displayed indecent images of himself to a female employee. The alleged incident took place in May at an office in central Hull and, according to accounts, occurred with at least one other colleague present. Campbell disputes the allegations.
Documents obtained by a news outlet indicate that Campbell approached a female member of staff at his workstation and displayed four explicit images of himself on a screen. According to those documents, viewing the images left the woman experiencing distress, a sense of violation, and considerable emotional harm. The court documents further indicate that Campbell and the other male employees present found her reaction amusing.
The woman's account described being subjected to explicit and sexualised imagery involving the mayor at her place of work — material shown to her without her consent — while those present responded to her visible discomfort with laughter, an experience she said left her sense of personal dignity undermined. A bystander reportedly set down their account of the episode in a separate written document.
Additional allegations concerning the mayor have surfaced in accounts describing a moment when he reportedly pulled down the waistband of his trousers to expose a tattoo and tan line on his lower abdomen. According to the allegations, a confirmed employment offer that had been extended to the person at the centre of the dispute was withdrawn approximately three weeks afterwards.
An internal process has been opened over the withdrawal of that permanent employment offer. The proceedings are understood to be overseen by the combined authority, following a complaint from the woman involved, who maintains that the job offer was withdrawn after she declined advances of a sexual nature.
Humberside Police are understood to have questioned the mayor under caution during the current month. No arrest has been made, and no criminal charges have been laid against him.
A spokesperson for the combined authority noted that, like other public bodies, it operates both a standards mechanism for handling complaints against elected members and a separate procedure covering grievances raised about officers. The spokesperson added that both the standards process and the complaints procedure are handled in a way that is fair and free from outside influence.
A representative for Reform UK stated that Campbell contests the allegations put to him. The organisation's representative attributed the allegations to a disaffected staff member who, the statement contended, was pursuing a financial resolution in connection with a workplace grievance the organisation views as lacking merit. Requests for comment were directed to both the combined authority and Campbell's office.
Before his 2025 election as Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire — his first foray into public office — Campbell had built a profile as one of Reform's more visible figures. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, a gold medal in boxing came his way, and he has since received an MBE.
The inquiry is unfolding alongside a forthcoming broadcast from a television network whose reporters recorded a number of the party's councillors making remarks described as racist and sexist. Questions about the workplace atmosphere within Campbell's office had drawn attention beforehand, following reports that staff members raised concerns about his conduct toward them as their manager.
Reports from the period indicate that five members of staff were told to leave their posts in August of that year, following his allegations that civil servants had been working to obstruct him. Reports at the time also placed Campbell in conflict with senior figures not long after he took up his post, amid an allegation that he had attempted to put first-class rail fares through on expenses.
Reform UK put forward a counter-position, asserting that the allegation had no basis and that the conduct described would have placed it outside the boundaries set by government regulations. A separate remuneration panel, brought in to review the matter independently, subsequently put forward a recommendation confining his travel expenses to standard class fares only.
Disagreement also arose when Campbell discovered that two individuals he intended to bring in as political advisers — Jack Anderton, a 23-year-old digital strategist affiliated with Reform, and Robin Hunter-Clarke, a former UKIP official — had yet to receive the necessary authorisation.
