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Reform UK Officials Step Down Amid Funding Scandal
Confirmed
In Short: Two senior Reform UK officials have resigned pending an internal investigation into claims of improper funding, overshadowing the party's conference.
Watch: Undercover reporters posing as party donors met with Nigel Farage's senior aide, Dan Jukes, and Reform's head of policy, James Orr, according to a Channel 4 News report. The meeting suggested ways to circumvent electoral law to secure a foreign donation of £500,000 for the party.
Reform UK has denied any wrongdoing and accused the incident of being a "hoax" by "foreign-funded climate change activists," according to a statement from the party. The party has launched an internal investigation into the claims, which were aired during a Channel 4 News report.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have reported Reform to the Metropolitan Police over the allegations. The incident threatens to overshadow Reform's conference in Birmingham, which was set to begin on the same day the news broke. Jukes, who has been a key figure in arranging interviews with the Reform UK leader, has stepped down.
The undercover filming by Verbatim Investigations, a group founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting, also revealed that Orr suggested to the undercover reporter that his father could pay for opinion polling to aid Reform's campaigning. The polls cost a total of £32,500, and the public was not informed of the funding source.
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson told Sky News that there was "no chance" of Jukes and Orr returning to the party. The row has added to the controversy surrounding the party, which has been under scrutiny for its funding practices.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Farage says "it's all above board" after the son has told him he has been in discussions with both Jukes and Reform's policy chief, James Orr about it for some time.
- The poll would cost £18,000 plus VAT – and Orr suggests that perhaps the polling company could send the bill to the undercover reporter.
- Jukes has long been the man you need to call if you want to arrange an interview with the Reform UK leader.
- Two Reform party officials, James Orr and Dan Jukes, have left their positions pending the outcome of that investigation, the spokesperson said.
- "No money reached Reform UK at all, no donation reached Reform UK at all — whether it was in cash or in kind," he said.