Key facts
- Two senior Reform UK officials, Dan Jukes and James Orr, have stepped down pending an internal investigation.
- An undercover report by Channel 4 News alleged officials discussed methods to circumvent electoral laws concerning foreign donations.
- James Orr suggested a donor's father could provide funds for an opinion poll, which UK electoral law prohibits.
- Nigel Farage was filmed discussing a potential £500,000 donation and celebrating poll results.
- Reform UK denies any wrongdoing, with Nigel Farage describing the comments as 'loose pub talk'.
Two senior officials from the UK political party Reform UK have stepped down pending an internal investigation following an undercover report by Channel 4 News. The report featured footage appearing to show party officials discussing methods to circumvent electoral laws concerning foreign donations.
Dan Jukes, a senior aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and James Orr, Reform's head of policy, stepped down from their roles. The investigation showed Orr suggesting to an undercover reporter that a donor's father could provide money for an £18,000 opinion poll. UK electoral law permits donations only from individuals on the UK electoral register and UK-registered companies.
The Channel 4 report also included footage from a lunch with Farage, Jukes, the undercover reporter, and an actor posing as the American father. In the footage, Farage appears to celebrate the opinion poll's results and discuss a potential £500,000 donation.
Nigel Farage has described the comments as 'loose pub talk' and 'injudicious at best,' stating that the individuals were not authorised to act as they did and that no laws were broken. The Labour and Liberal Democrat parties have reported Reform UK to the police, and the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission are assessing the allegations.