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Reform UK Faces Foreign Donations Scandal as Jenrick's Leadership Bid Investigated
Confirmed
In Short: Reform UK and Robert Jenrick's Conservative leadership campaign are under scrutiny over foreign donations, with police investigations and calls for parliamentary scrutiny.
According to reports, Jenrick's 2024 Tory leadership campaign is under police investigation over a £100,000 donation from British entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann, made via a company called Spott Fitness. Accepting donations from a foreign company could constitute a criminal offence, and the party has been reported to the police.
Jenrick, now Reform's economy spokesman, pledged to raise the income tax threshold as the party attempts to move on from allegations about its finances. The Liberal Democrats have also asked Parliament’s standards watchdog to investigate the claims.
Reform UK is facing intense scrutiny over donations it has received, as well as £5 million given by a wealthy backer. Nigel Farage, the party leader, was already facing scrutiny about these donations. On the eve of Reform’s party conference, undercover footage aired by Channel 4 News and an investigative outfit called Verbatim showed senior Reform figures discussing secret foreign donations, which may have breached electoral law.
Reform has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations as a politically motivated attack. However, there are now two separate rows over foreign money engulfing Reform figures, with UK electoral law barring political parties and campaigns from accepting donations from foreign sources.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Mr Jenrick said the move was “a tax cut for 40 million people, the biggest rise in the personal allowance in its history, and delivered not in 10 years but in my very first budget”.
- The party has previously said it wants to increase the personal allowance to £20,000, with Mr Jenrick saying he would approach the figure “step-by-step” when it is affordable.
- Police seek protester after footage shows Reform audience pulling hair Reform round on Zia Yusuf 'nasty' comments about Labour London by-election candidate Farage to take to the stage at Reform conference again amid donations row Discover a hidden island paradise in the Indian Ocean On Friday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice would not say whether the pair could return, telling the BBC it would depend on the outcome of an internal investigation.
- But on Saturday, Mr Jenrick told Times Radio they had been “permanently suspended from their roles”.
- It also raises fresh questions over what Farage knew about the proposed funding and whether the party’s financial arrangements have complied with the law.