Reform UK suspends two senior figures after undercover funding sting

Reform UK, the British anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, has suspended two senior officials following an undercover investigation that filmed them appearing to discuss accepting funds from a foreign donor, a practice that would breach UK electoral law.

The party announced on Friday that Dan Jukes, an adviser to Farage, and policy chief James Orr had "stepped down from their respective positions" while an internal investigation is carried out.

The suspensions come after Channel 4 aired footage on Thursday showing Jukes at a lunch with Farage discussing a plan to channel a £500,000 ($675,000) donation from a US financier through his UK-based son. The supposed son was in fact a reporter from the investigative group Verbatim, and the father was an actor.

In separate footage, Orr, a Cambridge University theologian, appears to discuss having the US donor pay for opinion polls commissioned by the party. He is heard telling the undercover reporter that "we just don't have British-resident donors, British entities, that would support us."

UK law permits political parties to accept donations only from British voters or UK-registered businesses.

The allegations have overshadowed Reform UK's annual conference, which is being held in Birmingham on Friday and Saturday. Farage has insisted the party broke no rules and accepted no "dodgy money," accusing the journalists of "entrapment" by what he called foreign-funded climate activists. Verbatim is an offshoot of the Centre for Climate Reporting, a nonprofit that says it is funded by grants and donations.

"They got a couple of our contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said," Farage told LBC radio. "And as a result of that, you know, they have been removed this morning. And yeah, you know, I'm not happy about it."

The governing Labour Party and the opposition Liberal Democrats said they had reported the claims to London's Metropolitan Police. The Electoral Commission, which oversees UK elections, said it was "considering all relevant information, in line with our regulatory remit, and we are in touch with the Met Police."

Reform UK, founded in 2018 as the Brexit Party, has grown rapidly since rebranding in 2021. It holds only eight of 650 seats in the House of Commons but has often led opinion polls and performed strongly in local elections in May. The party has recently faced setbacks, including losing several special elections and questions about funding. Farage quit his Commons seat in July amid a parliamentary ethics probe over an undeclared £5 million gift from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire, before winning an August election that rivals dismissed as a stunt.