Farage Dismisses £500,000 Donation Claims as 2 Reform Aides Quit
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 4
Farage Dismisses £500,000 Donation Claims as 2 Reform Aides Quit
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 4
Summary
Nigel Farage said secretly recorded remarks by two senior Reform UK aides about securing foreign-linked donations were "loose pub talk," insisting the party took no illegal money and accepted no money at all.
Channel 4's undercover report alleged aide Dan Jukes suggested routing a donation of up to £500,000 through a UK-based son of an American father, while policy chief James Orr discussed foreign-funded polling.
Jukes and Orr have stepped down pending a Reform internal investigation; Farage said neither was authorized to act that way and acknowledged Jukes' comments were "problematic."
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have reported Reform to the Metropolitan Police, which said it would assess the information, while the Electoral Commission said it was considering relevant material and was in contact with police.
The allegations test Reform as Farage says the party must "do better" as it professionalises, with Channel 4 and Verbatim rejecting claims their year-long investigation was entrapment.