Reform internal inquiry says party did not break law over donations sting

An internal investigation by Reform UK has said the party did not breach electoral law when senior officials were recorded by an undercover journalist discussing a potential way to secure foreign donations to the party.

Reform leader Nigel Farage’s senior aide Dan Jukes and the party’s head of policy James Orr both stood down pending the outcome of the inquiry.

The investigation concluded that neither of the men did anything that constitutes a breach of the law.

The Metropolitan Police is carrying out a separate criminal investigation into Reform UK, over allegations it broke foreign funding laws.

It came after undercover filming, carried out by Verbatim Investigations and broadcast by Channel 4 News, showed the two aides apparently suggesting a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations, one of which would have totalled £500,000.

It is understood Reform UK will wait until the conclusion of the police investigation before deciding the futures of Jukes and Orr.

In the Channel 4 News report, an undercover investigator posing as the son of an American donor is recorded raising a concern that his father would not be able to directly donate to the party within the law.

Electoral law states that to be a permissible donor to a UK political party you must be a UK registered voter, or a company registered in the UK.

Jukes appears to suggest that the donation could be in the UK-based son’s name, although the money would have come from his American father.

Elsewhere, Orr suggests that the father could pay for opinion polling to support one of Reform’s campaigns.

Channel 4 News says Reform commissioned three polls costing £32,500 in total and that the public was not told who commissioned or funded them. Reform says it did not commission or pay for the polls.

Farage and Jukes were also filmed at a lunch in Clacton where it is suggested the US donor, who was being played by an actor, gives £500,000 to Reform through his son.

Farage previously told the BBC he “frankly wasn’t listening” to the discussion about the potential donation.

Reform’s investigation concluded no donation was made or accepted by the party and “the party’s procedures for checking donors were never reached”.

The report says Jukes commissioned the three polls personally, describing him as a “contractor” and not an employee of Reform.

It added there was “no evidence that any individual knowingly took part in an arrangement to facilitate a donation from an impermissible source”.

However, it found “people speaking for the party said things that were wrong, careless and in one instance untrue”.

The investigation also found “the party’s arrangements allowed a sustained deception to reach its leader without anyone asking the questions that would have exposed it”.

It added that the party would implement changes to “prevent that from happening again”.

Jukes welcomed the findings of the investigation, saying he was “considering all appropriate legal remedies in relation to any false and damaging statements made about me”.

He added: “For now, I will continue to take a break from politics to pursue other opportunities.”

Reform UK said the internal investigation “found no evidence that any laws were broken”.

“Reform UK takes its obligations on governance and conduct extremely seriously,” the party said.

“We consider that the production company – Verbatim – acted unlawfully and will be taking the appropriate legal action in due course.”

A spokesperson for Verbatim, which was founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting, previously said its investigation was carried out “to the highest journalistic standards”.

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