Nigel Farage claims donations row is result of ‘hard-Left smear campaign’ as hecklers cause chaos at conference speech

NIGEL Farage brushed off a fresh dodgy donations scandal as “loose pub talk” after his party conference was thrown into chaos. The Reform leader was forced to cut loose two of his closest aides caught by an undercover sting appearing to suggest workarounds to laws that ban parties taking foreign cash. The Reform leader was forced to cut loose two of his closest aides caught by an undercover sting Credit: EPA Reform now also faces the possibility of probes by the Electoral Commission Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Senior adviser Dan Jukes and policy guru James Orr both stepped down on the first morning of the Birmingham rally pending an internal investigation. Reform now also faces the possibility of probes by the Electoral Commission and the Metropolitan Police. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Mr Farage yesterday insisted “the party has broken no laws” and dismissed the behaviour of his suspended colleagues as “loose pub talk”. He sought to defuse the row with a barnstorming address to the party faithful portraying the Channel 4 report as the work of a “foreign-funded group of hard-Left activists”. James Orr, head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a senior aide both stepped down after the Channel 4 doc aired Credit: Alamy Mr Farage has blasted “loose pub talk” after two senior aides quit following an undercover probe Credit: CH4 NEWS/VERBATIM/UNPIXS The undercover sting was carried out by Verbatim, which was founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting. Mr Farage said: “A foreign-funded group of hard-Left activists with a long history, indeed a group in the past strongly criticised by the US Congress for their methods, have for over a year and at huge financial cost targeted figures in Reform. “Make no mistake, this was a prolonged exercise in entrapment. I want to be clear, the party has done nothing wrong, the party has taken no illegal money, the party has taken no money, that’s important.” The speech was relentlessly interrupted by climate hecklers who were bundled out of the hall by security. Most read in The Sun Addressing one of the hecklers, Mr Farage said: “These are the benefits of a university education, folks… Tell us love, is it sociology, is it? Yeah, I bet it is.” The Reform UK leader said: “There is more to do. There are more big jobs to fill and I’m looking and working on defence, health and the other areas and we will get there. We will get there soon.” Mr Farage said Reform will be “absolutely determined” to carry on in the face of what he called a “highly co-ordinated campaign”. He said: “When that election comes we will be ready. And when that election comes we will fight to win, no question. “But since May 8, and May 8 was the day the establishment woke up and thought ‘oh dear’, we have been the subject of a highly coordinated campaign of attacks. In a sense, it’s not really surprising if you think about it.“Two parties have dominated British politics for over 100 years and around them is a whole ecosystem of membership of the House of Lords, the issuance of government contracts, heads of quangos and so much else. “A whole ecosystem around the century-old two-party system and we come along and threaten that… We will not be distracted by any of this. We are absolutely determined in what we’re doing.” Mr Farage committed to sacking ministers within the first few weeks of government if they were underperforming. “At this conference we tell you that in the first 100 days of government we will make fundamental changes to the way this country is run. “We will keep our pledges and I will hold those ministers to account. And if in 100 days they have not delivered on those promises, then I will sack them and I will replace them with someone else with the courage to do it.” His speech was delayed after a security scare delayed his speech to the conference centre in Birmingham NEC. Reform sources have said counter terror police would not allow Mr Farage to go on stage at the scheduled time. A sniffer dog was called back stage to check the area. He walked around the conference hall surrounded by security guards as pop music blasted around the main hall. His speech was interrupted by a heckler for a few minutes. In a video before his speech, Mr Farage claimed he could not be bought and cannot be bullied. He said: “Whatever elements of the media try to do to us, the British people still have a sense of fair play. “I can’t be bought, I can’t be bullied. I’ve stood for the same principles for many, many decades.” 1 comment1