Key facts
- Reform UK's internal investigation found no evidence that laws were broken regarding foreign donations.
- Two senior officials, James Orr and Dan Jukes, were cleared by the internal inquiry.
- The Metropolitan Police are continuing a separate criminal investigation into the allegations.
- The sting operation by Channel 4 and Verbatim involved posing as wealthy American donors.
- Reform UK stated it will take legal action against the production company Verbatim.
An internal investigation commissioned by Reform UK has cleared two senior party officials of any wrongdoing in relation to an undercover sting operation that sought to expose illegal foreign donations. The operation, conducted by Channel 4 and Verbatim, involved reporters posing as wealthy American donors and recording conversations with party members.
James Orr, the party's previous head of policy, and Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage's former aide, were suspended following the probe. However, Reform UK's internal inquiry, carried out by legal secretary Adam Richardson and general secretary Tom Waterhouse, concluded there was "no evidence" that they "knowingly entered into or acted in furtherance of an arrangement to facilitate an impermissible donation."
The report stated that "nothing was agreed, no donations were made and no formal position was presented to the party’s finance team, and nothing was accepted." It added that "people speaking for the party said things that were wrong, careless and in one instance untrue," attributing this to a blurring of lines between legal permissions and discretion.
Despite the internal clearance, the Metropolitan Police are continuing their own criminal investigation into the allegations. The British Polling Council is also reportedly looking into claims that the party accepted funding from a US company for supposedly independent polls.
Reform UK has stated that it "takes its obligations on governance and conduct extremely seriously" and intends to take "appropriate legal action" against Verbatim, which it considers to have acted unlawfully. The party also accused the documentary of presenting a "distorted version of events."