Nigel Farage is battling to steady Reform after two senior aides stepped back amid a growing row over an alleged “illegal” donations sting.
The Reform leader denied that any law had been broken following the release of undercover footage in which he and members of his team were shown discussing donations with a man posing as a US businessman.
Mr Farage dismissed the episode as a “clear case of entrapment”, while conceding that the footage captured aides “boasting” and making remarks that “perhaps should not have been said”.
James Orr, Reform’s head of policy, and Dan Jukes, an assistant to Mr Farage, are both standing aside from their roles while the claims are examined.
In a striking defence, Mr Farage referred to the pair as “contractors”, despite their status as key figures around him, with Mr Jukes having been a constant presence at his side for years.
The furore is threatening to overshadow Reform’s conference in Birmingham, where Mr Farage is hoping to revive the party’s fortunes after a torrid spell.
A report broadcast by Channel 4 News claimed Reform took funding from a US firm for three polls it commissioned earlier this year, costing £32,500.
Senior Reform figures including leader Nigel Farage are said to have discussed a £500,000 donation from a purported US businessman through his son, who lives in the UK
Farage and his senior aide Dan Jukes were filmed meeting a US businessman and his son, who lives in the UK, and discussing donations. The men were both in fact undercover members of Verbatim, a group of investigative journalists
The purported donors were in fact undercover reporters from investigative group Verbatim posing as an American financier and his UK-based son.
The provenance of the polls was not revealed when they were published in national newspapers, and the costs were not declared by Reform as donations in kind.
Senior officials including Mr Farage are also said to have discussed a £500,000 donation from the fake businessman through his son.
Speaking to LBC, Mr Farage said: ‘The party has broken no laws. The party has not taken any dodgy money or anything like that whatsoever.
‘However, it is a clear case of entrapment, and they worked at it for a very, very long time, and they got a couple of our contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said.
‘And as a result of that, you know, they have been removed this morning. And yeah, you know, I’m not happy about it.’
On the polls, which were published in the run-up to local elections, he said: ‘Whilst the poll benefited Reform, it wasn’t commissioned by Reform.
‘It had nothing to do with Reform. It was an independent third party that did it. So that’s nothing. That’s nothing. Polls are funded by overseas people every single week. Every single week.’
At a press conference alongside French PM hopeful Jordan Bardella later, Mr Farage said he was ‘annoyed’ the undercover reporters were able to meet him.
‘We have not taken an illegal penny in funding, that is important. The loose pub talk, frankly, there was a bit of boasting, a bit of jack-the-lad-dery going on there,’ he said.
‘If it was more serious than that, then I refer you back to the BBC’s question earlier, the names would have been put onto the programme and there would be a hell of a row. They don’t exist. Those donations don’t exist.
‘Am I annoyed? Am I annoyed that these people even got to meet me? Yes, I am. It should not have happened. It should not have happened.
‘The two individuals involved are not even part of our fundraising team, so they should have gone through the appropriate channels. Checks would have been made, and they would never, ever have got to sit down at a table with with me.
‘So do we need to do better as we professionalise? Yes, absolutely we do. So yeah, there was certainly human error here and of that there’s no question.’
Mr Farage said he ‘didn’t like’ losing Mr Jukes from his team, but suggested an investigation was likely to find he ‘should never had said one or two of the things that he said’.
‘I’ve worked with Dan very closely for many years, many, many years, and I described it as loose pub talk, and that’s what it was, because what he said simply wasn’t true,’ he insisted.
‘He got put into a position and he should never have said what he did.
‘I believe the investigation will find he should never have said one or two of the things that he said.’
A Reform spokesman said: ‘Reform UK has launched an investigation following the broadcast of a Channel 4 News programme.
‘Both individuals involved have stepped down from their respective positions pending the outcome of the investigation.
‘The party believes it is important that the investigation is allowed to proceed independently and without prejudice. No further comment will be made while the investigation is ongoing.’
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson told Sky News there was ‘no chance’ of them returning to the party.
However, deputy leader Richard Tice refused to rule out a comeback, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Let’s wait and see what the investigation says.’
Mr Jukes said in a statement this morning: ‘This was entrapment over a prolonged period of nearly a year by foreign-funded climate change activists.
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‘I totally deny any wrongdoing but have stepped back from politics in order to clear my name.’
Foreign political donations are banned in the UK and no donation of that size was ever made.
The Lib Dems have written to the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission about the issue.
Labour has also reported the allegations to the police, and the Greens have called for a probe.
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said the ‘scandal goes right to the top of Reform’.
‘Farage must co-operate with the authorities and urgently prove that his top team haven’t broken the law and secretly plotted to undermine our democracy,’ she posted on X.
In a letter to the Met Police, Lib Dem frontbencher Lisa Smart wrote: ‘The breach raises alarming questions about whether there has been a wider complacency toward foreign interference by the individuals involved.’
Channel 4 News said it had ‘thoroughly checked and verified’ the work by Verbatim and ‘did not pay for the polling and paid no money to Verbatim or any associated company’.
Mr Anderson told Sky News of Mr Jukes and Mr Orr: ‘They’ve stepped down. They was told, you know, they had to step down, they have stepped down, and that’s got to be the right thing to do on the day, the first day of our conference.
‘Let’s remember, we’ve got 5,000 members coming through the door today to listen to what we’ve got to say about our first 100 days in government and how we’re going to change the course of this country.
‘So it’s right to get rid of this distraction straight away. The pair concerned have gone, and the investigation starts today. It’s as simple as that.’
He added: ‘There’s no chance of them coming back. They’ve stepped aside.
‘You know, we’re a serious party, you know, and sometimes in politics, you have to make tough decisions, harsh decisions.’
Mr Tice denied that the party broke any laws regarding allegations about impermissible donations.
He told Today: ‘The reality is that no money has been received whatsoever. We’ve got a KC’s opinion that makes clear no rules have been broken.’ He added that ‘no benefit in kind was received’.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: ‘We are considering all relevant information, in line with our regulatory remit, and we are in touch with the Met Police.
‘The Electoral Commission has not approved the donor vetting process for Reform, or any other party. Parties are responsible for ensuring their internal processes and controls are fit for purpose.
‘We provide advice and guidance to political parties on how to comply with electoral law.
‘The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500.
‘Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider.’
Mr Farage is expected to give the first of his two conference speeches this afternoon, promising to declare a ‘national emergency’ on his first day in government, introducing a flood of legislation and doing ‘anything and everything’ to deliver his party’s policies.
He will say: ‘Within days of winning the general election, we will introduce dozens of Bills and force Parliament to sit all through summer for seven days a week to pass them.
‘Britain is in serious trouble. We don’t have time to wait around to fix it.’
The two-day conference in Birmingham is expected to hear from other senior Reform figures setting out their own pledges for their first 100 days in office, as well as an address from Jordan Bardella, leader of the French National Rally.
Mr Farage opened the Reform conference in Birmingham today by paying tribute to Ann Widdecombe
Mr Jukes (left) has been an ever-present figure at Mr Farage’s side for many years
Mr Farage is expected to announce that any frontbenchers who fail to deliver on their pledges ‘will be sacked’.
He is also due to make his own promise to focus on reducing the cost of living and lead on efforts to end small boat crossings in the Channel.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: ‘We are considering all relevant information, in line with our regulatory remit, and we are in touch with the Met Police.
‘The Electoral Commission has not approved the donor vetting process for Reform, or any other party. Parties are responsible for ensuring their internal processes and controls are fit for purpose.
‘We provide advice and guidance to political parties on how to comply with electoral law.
‘The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500. ‘Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider.’
