Reform reported to police over claims of funding rules breach in undercover sting

Reform reported to police over claims of funding rules breach in undercover sting Nigel Farage’s party is accused of taking payment from an American company for polling it commissioned - Bookmark Reform UK has been reported to the police over allegations it breached political donation rules by having polling paid for by an overseas company. Nigel Farage’s party took funding from a US firm for three polls it commissioned earlier this year costing £32,500, Channel 4 News reported. The purported donors were in fact undercover reporters from investigative group Verbatim posing as an American financier and his UK-based son. Foreign companies are not a permissible source of funding for parties, including for payments for studies and research, and accepting donations from them could constitute a criminal offence. Reform claimed it was the victim of a hoax. A spokesperson said: “Reform UK has been the target of a hoax perpetuated by foreign-funded, climate change activists posing as would-be party donors. The party denies any wrongdoing. “Reform UK has a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission.” The Liberal Democrats have written to the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission. Labour also intends to report the matter to the police, it is understood, and the Greens have called for an investigation. The Met said it is assessing the reports. In a letter to the force’s special enquiry team, Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart wrote: “I am writing to report to your unit a potential serious breach of electoral law, involving the acceptance and concealment of a donation from an impermissible donor. “The breach raises alarming questions about whether there has been a wider complacency toward foreign interference by the individuals involved.” Ms Smart said that James Orr, a senior adviser to Mr Farage, facilitating the £32,500 donation from an impermissible donor would mark a breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act. She continued: “The funding appears to have been channelled into political spending on behalf of Reform UK, and therefore a donation in kind, in a manner apparently structured so as to avoid the payment being recorded and reported as a donation to the Electoral Commission. This would constitute a clear breach of section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.” Mr Orr, Reform’s policy head who is at the centre of the allegations, said that “no money reached Reform UK at all”. “It was a public poll arranged by an independent person paying an independent pollster, and those polls were published immediately for the general public,” he said in a video posted to X. It comes at a sensitive moment for Reform, members of which have gathered for its annual conference in Birmingham with Mr Farage set to deliver his comeback speech on Friday afternoon. Mr Farage is already under investigation by the parliamentary watchdog over a £5 million donation he received just before becoming an MP from crypto billionaire Chris Harborne, which he failed to declare. The Reform UK leader has always insisted the money was a private gift for his personal security and not political, so it did not need to be declared. But other questions have been raised about gifts and donations from his long-term associate George Cottrell, known as Posh George, and his mother. The latest allegations also come as Reform has been sliding in the polls, averaging around 23 per cent. This is around 10 points down from last year, and the party is trailing Labour in most surveys. A More in Common poll earlier this week also had Kemi Badenoch’s Tories ahead of Reform. Mr Farage hoped to have drawn a line under the allegations with his by-election victory in Clacton last month, but the sting operation took place while he was campaigning there. Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said: “This scandal goes right to the top of Reform UK. Nigel Farage needs to urgently prove today that his top team haven’t broken the law and secretly plotted to undermine our democracy. “It’s not just Farage’s secret £5 million ‘gift’. Time and again he and his mates think the rules don’t apply to them. The sleaze and scandal now engulfing him and his party isn’t going away – it’s getting worse. “It’s time to stop the deflections and desperate excuses. Farage and Reform must co-operate with the authorities to establish the truth and prove just how deep this scandal goes.” Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told Channel 4 News: “Let’s not pre-empt the police investigation and what the Electoral Commission find. But if they are found guilty, he (Mr Farage) should face the full force of the law, and that could be very, very heavy fines. It could even be a prison sentence.” Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: “These very serious claims should be fully investigated by the Electoral Commission and the police. “There are millions of reasons why Nigel Farage is happy to take money from billionaires, climate science deniers and secret foreign backers, and not one of them is because he has any interest in improving people’s lives.” Chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry, said: “It is a criminal offence to knowingly receive a donation for a political party from a foreigner with no connection to the UK. “What has been caught on camera by Channel 4 looks to be very serious indeed. I expect the police to investigate. “We must protect our democracy from foreign interference and keep all dodgy money out.” A Met Police spokesperson said: “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.” An Electoral Commission spokesperson said: “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.”