Reform UK has suspended its head of policy, James Orr, and a senior aide to Nigel Farage, Dan Jukes, after an undercover report appeared to show them discussing ways to get around electoral laws on foreign donations. The party said it had opened an investigation into their actions.
The Liberal Democrats and Labour have reported the matter to police, while the Electoral Commission said it was considering relevant information and was in contact with the Metropolitan police. Farage has said no rules were broken.
What the undercover footage showed
The investigative group Verbatim filmed meetings in which Orr and Jukes appeared to help arrange funding for polling by JL Partners. The polling made headlines before local elections in May, but its foreign funding and links to Reform were not publicly disclosed.
In separate footage, Orr appeared to suggest that a substantial donation could be channelled from the supposed donor’s US-based father through his UK-based son. He also appeared to discuss access to Farage in return for a possible five- or six-figure sum. Farage later met the supposed donors in Clacton and described the poll as “amazing”, saying: “It worked. Boom.”
Dispute over the officials’ status
Reform initially described the investigation as a hoax and criticised the people behind the filming. Its later statement said the two officials had stepped down pending an independent investigation and that the party would make no further comment while it was under way.
Party chair Lee Anderson said the pair had gone and would not return, but deputy leader Richard Tice did not rule out their returning after the inquiry. Danny Kruger, who leads Reform’s preparations for government, also described them as suspended pending an investigation.
Police and regulator response
The Electoral Commission said it was not responsible for approving Reform’s donor-vetting process, after the party said it had a robust process approved by the commission. The commission said it was considering all relevant information within its regulatory remit and was in contact with the Metropolitan police.
The central legal issue is whether the polling funding amounted to an unregistered donation in kind from a foreign source. That question has not been resolved: Farage said on LBC that Reform had done nothing wrong, while Tice said the party had legal advice from a King’s Counsel that no rules had been broken.
What happens next
Reform UK’s internal investigation will proceed while police and the Electoral Commission consider the allegations and relevant information.
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