Reform UK‘s foreign donations row deepened on Friday after Nigel Farage dismissed the conduct of two suspended senior officials as ‘loose pub talk’, hours after a Channel 4 undercover investigation appeared to show them willing to help funnel illegal foreign money into the party. Farage, speaking at a press conference, said the remarks were ‘injudicious at best’ but insisted no laws had been broken.
The investigation, carried out by Verbatim Investigations working with Channel 4 News, filmed Farage’s chief of staff Dan Jukes and head of policy Dr James Orr apparently agreeing to accept a donation from a foreign benefactor routed through a middle man, an arrangement that could constitute a breach of electoral law. According to BBC News, Jukes was shown suggesting a specific way to circumvent electoral law in order to secure a £500,000 foreign donation for the party.
The investigation was conducted by Verbatim Investigations. According to The Guardian, Verbatim Investigations was incorporated in July 2026 in an attempt to mask the true identity of its founders, who came from the Centre for Climate Reporting. The donation discussed during the sting was never actually made.
Suspensions and internal fallout over the Reform UK foreign donations affair
Both Jukes and Orr were suspended from the party pending an internal investigation. A Reform spokesman said the party believed ‘it is important that the investigation is allowed to proceed independently and without prejudice’, and added that no further comment would be made while the process was ongoing.
Farage sought to distance the pair from the party’s formal fundraising structures, saying neither was authorised to act as they did. He also said that certain claims made by them, parts of which were bleeped out in the broadcast, ‘were not true’. ‘Whilst I’m aware that our people were pushed and sort of provoked into saying these things, the comments were injudicious at best,’ he said. ‘No one’s broken any law, and we take compliance around donations very, very seriously.’
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson was less equivocal. Speaking to Sky News, Anderson said there was ‘no chance’ of Jukes and Orr returning to the party, according to BBC News. The pair had been among the party’s more influential figures, with Orr having recently led the build-out of a new policy team.
Broader scrutiny and the Met Police assessment
The Channel 4 investigation adds to existing pressure on Farage over his party’s financial affairs. He is still facing a parliamentary investigation into the terms of a £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, made before the 2024 general election. A party spokesman said Reform had not broken the law or ‘taken dodgy money’.
Opposition politicians wrote to the Metropolitan Police to report the potential electoral law breach. The Met said in a statement: ‘We’re aware of media reporting on Thursday, 3 September involving political party donations and an alleged breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 relating to polling. We will assess this matter and any information provided to us.’
Farage was also filmed in the sting operation discussing payments to JL Partners for party polling, describing them as ‘bang for buck’. He told the press conference that the polls in question were not commissioned by Reform, and the party said it had ‘nothing to do’ with a separate poll that showed Reform ahead of Labour on several key issues.
Industry figures were quick to note the reputational consequences. Representatives told City AM that the investigation was damaging for business relations and risked reinforcing perceptions of mixed messaging on policy from the party.
The press conference itself carried its own optics. Farage appeared alongside Jordan Bardella, president of France’s National Rally, and the two signed a pact to ‘stop the boats forever’ if both secured electoral office. Bardella is tipped to become France’s prime minister should Marine Le Pen win the 2027 presidential election, following a ruling that she is permitted to stand. The Met Police has said it will assess any information it receives before deciding how to proceed.
