Two senior Reform UK officials step down after undercover donations investigation

The resignations add to mounting scrutiny of the far-right party, which is already facing investigations into its finances, donations and senior figures, as it comes under fresh questions over foreign-funded polling and possible attempts to bypass U.K. political donation rules.MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Two senior officials with Reform UK stepped down Friday after an undercover investigation appeared to show them discussing ways to arrange foreign funding for the party, including $44,000 worth of political polling.Reform’s head of policy, James Orr, and senior Farage aide Dan Jukes left their posts as the party held its annual conference in Birmingham, hours before leader Nigel Farage’s main speech.A Channel 4 News investigation, based on undercover work by U.S.-based investigative group Verbatim, showed Orr and Jukes discussing a plan for a fake U.S. donor to secretly fund political polling commissioned by Reform.The polls, conducted by JL Partners for 32,500 pounds, were later reported in national newspapers without identifying Reform as the client.Farage was also filmed meeting the supposed donor in his Clacton constituency and praising the results as “amazing” and good “bang for buck,” adding: “It worked. Boom.”Labour and the Liberal Democrats have referred the case to the police.The Electoral Commission, an independent body that regulates political finance in the U.K., said it was reviewing the information and was in contact with the Metropolitan Police.The Reform officials had been discussing a fake donor created by Verbatim, posing as a potential British supporter and his wealthy American father. Jukes was also recorded discussing routing a possible 500,000-pound donation from the father through the son.At one point, Orr said Farage “doesn’t know, won’t know” about the polling arrangement and suggested it was something the Reform leader would “rather not know.”Jukes was filmed describing the polling as “clandestine” and “hugely important.”The recordings also appeared to show Orr suggesting a large potential donor could secure a meeting with Farage.The meeting later took place over oysters and champagne.Farage rejected the findings in his conference speech, which was delayed by an hour for security concerns and then interrupted by multiple hecklers.Speaking on the Verbatim investigation, he told supporters in Birmingham, “We will not be distracted by any of this,” calling it “a prolonged exercise in entrapment” by a “foreign funded group of hard left activists.”He said Reform had “broken no law” and had “taken no illegal money.”He described the comments by the two officials as “loose pub talk” with some of the comments “injudicious at best.”However, he defended the party’s conduct and said it took legal compliance seriously.What the law saysPolitical donations are regulated under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Parties can accept donations only from permissible sources.Individuals must be registered on a U.K. electoral register, while companies must be registered, incorporated and operating in the U.K.A U.S.-based individual or company that does not meet those rules would be an impermissible donor.Section 61 makes it a criminal offense to knowingly arrange or facilitate donations from impermissible sources, including by concealing their true source or providing false information.The proposed use of a British intermediary and the failure to disclose the funding source could therefore be significant if investigators find Reform knowingly participated in the arrangement.JL Partners co-founder James Johnson was also filmed discussing the polling. He acknowledged there had been “informal rule bending” and said the company “should have disclosed who the client was.”The British Polling Council and Market Research Society are reviewing the firm. The Telegraph, one of the newspapers that published the polls, said they are cutting all ties with JL Partners and pulled the articles.Orr, a close friend of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, is an associate professor of philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge and a senior Reform adviser. He also faces scrutiny from the university.A Cambridge spokesperson said: “The University is looking into these matters.” Orr is a close associate of U.S. Vice President JD Vance.Further investigations expectedThe episode adds to existing police and parliamentary investigations into Reform’s finances.The Metropolitan Police are investigating 500,000 pounds in donations made to the party by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of convicted fraudster George Cottrell, a longtime ally of Farage.Farage is also under a parliamentary standards investigation over an undeclared 5 million-pound gift from cryptocurrency entrepreneur Christopher Harborne.Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads