Criminal probe launched after foreign donor claims in TV documentary
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK was the subject of an undercover sting about donations (Image: Getty)
The Metropolitan Police has launched a criminal investigation into Reform UK donations following an undercover sting.
Two senior figures – long-term Nigel Farage aide Dan Jukes and head of policy James Orr – have been suspended after claims the Party breached foreign donor rules.
A force spokesman said it had received “a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party”.
He added: “All allegations under investigation relate to potential offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
“Detectives continue to liaise closely with the Electoral Commission and Crown Prosecution Service as enquiries progress.”
No arrests have been made.
Rival parties had reported Reform UK to the police over claims by Channel 4 News that Mr Farage’s party took funding from a US firm for three polls it commissioned earlier this year, costing £32,500.
In the film, Mr Jukes and Mr Orr appear to suggest a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations, one of which would have totalled £500,000.
The purported donors that appeared in the footage broadcast last Thursday were in fact undercover reporters from investigative group Verbatim posing as an American financier and his UK-based son.
Foreign companies are not a permissible source of funding for parties, including for payments for studies and research, and accepting donations from them could constitute a criminal offence.
Reform UK “denies any wrongdoing” and will “fully co-operate” with the Metropolitan Police investigation, a spokesman said.
He added: “We won’t be commenting further while a live investigation is underway.”
On Friday, Mr Jukes said in a statement: “This was entrapment over a prolonged period of nearly a year by foreign-funded, climate change activists.
“I totally deny any wrongdoing but have stepped back from politics in order to clear my name.”
The Met had already been investigating whether payments to Reform UK in the weeks before the last election complied with donation laws.
The probe is examining donations given directly to the party by Fiona Cottrell, mother of longstanding Farage ally, George Cottrell.
It is also examining payments from a company controlled by Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice, which received £1million from Ms Cottrell in June 2024.