Farage caught on camera in foreign donations sting

Nigel Farage has been accused of allegedly welcoming secret foreign donations which may have breached electoral law. Channel 4 News and Verbatim, a group of investigative journalists, have published footage suggesting that the Reform leader celebrated these foreign donations, and that senior party figures devised a plan to break the law on party funding. The undercover footage, which was recorded by Verbatim and which Channel 4 said it then verified, claims that party members commissioned polling which helped boost support ahead of the local elections in May. Shorts Under UK electoral law, political donations from overseas are generally illegal. It is understood that Labour intends to report the allegations to the police. Reform said it had “been the target of a hoax perpetuated by foreign-funded, climate change activists posing as would-be party donors”. It added: “The party denies any wrongdoing. Reform UK has a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission.” Farage is already facing intense scrutiny over his finances, with an ongoing investigation into whether he should have declared a £5m gift from Thai-based crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne. He denies wrongdoing and claims the money was needed to fund his personal security. The footage shown on Channel 4 appears to show senior Reform figures arranging for a US company to fund three influential polls which were published in the media – without making it clear that the party had commissioned the surveys themselves. In a secretly recorded meeting at a Reform UK reception, Dan Jukes, one of Farage’s close aides, introduced the undercover reporter as a key donor for an “off the book” project. In another meeting in January, James Orr, Reform’s head of policy, appeared to arrange for a US company to fund polling that the party had commissioned. At this stage, Orr said that Farage would not be made aware of the agreement. Channel 4 said the polls cost £32,500, which Farage described as “bang for buck” at a meeting over oysters and wine in his Clacton constituency. The broadcaster has published clips of meetings between Reform and the undercover journalists, who were posing as a wealthy American and his UK-based son – the supposed donors behind the US company. During a meeting between Jukes and the undercover reporter in April, he appeared to say the polling is “fingerprints off” for the party, but that “these little clandestine projects are so valuable for the sake of £4,500”. He said one of the polls “stood up public support for our slogan”. In another meeting in late July, Farage told the undercover journalists that the polling was “amazing”, adding: “It worked, boom.” Posing as a US investor, the undercover journalist said he had not been able to “donate directly up to this point”, but said he was “thrilled to pick up the tab for the polls”. The first two polls appeared in the Telegraph and the second was reported on the front page of The Times under the headline, “Reform vote in unions at same level as Labour”. Channel 4 has alleged that the conversation turned to a potential larger donation to Reform where the UK-based son would make the payment and be the declared donor even though the money was originally coming from the US-based father. The broadcaster said that Farage replied “thank you” and then “both of you, thank you”. It reported that when the UK-based son discussed the “next phase” of their financial support, the Reform leader described it as “all above board”. The undercover reporter had previously told Farage’s aides the potential future donation would be for £500,000, Channel 4 said. This proposed larger donation was never made. The broadcaster asked Reform UK if Farage knew the polls were being funded by a secret financier using a US company before the payments were made, or if he was told about them later. They did not comment. Farage and Reform are likely to face questions over the latest reporting on the party’s finances during their conference in Birmingham on Friday. The party leader is also facing further allegations over years of undeclared support from George Cottrell – a crypto-gambling entrepreneur involved in an offshore bookmaker, Tether.bet, and a longstanding ally of Farage. Under Parliament’s rules, new MPs must declare financial interests and benefits received in the 12 months before their election. Channel 4 News approached Reform UK, Farage, Jukes and Orr for comment on the findings of this investigation. They did not comment but it is understood they deny the allegations in full. JL Partners, which conducted the polls, said: “Despite there being no concern about the accuracy of our work, the report did reveal weaknesses in our procedures. For that reason JL Partners is reviewing those procedures in order to eliminate possible grey areas and ambiguities and strengthen our safeguards for the future.” Telegraph Media Group said it will be “reviewing” its relationship with the polling company as it believes it has been “misled”, while The Times said it “was not made aware of Reform’s involvement in commissioning and arranging payment of the poll”. The British Polling Council said its members must declare publicly who has commissioned their polls, adding that Channel 4’s reporting suggests there “may have been deliberate breaches of this rule”.