LONDON — The Metropolitan Police said Wednesday it will investigate allegations Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party broke the law after an undercover investigation was broadcast last week.
The Met said detectives will probe multiple “potential offences” arising from the overseas donations sting by Verbatim and Channel 4 News.
A Reform spokesperson said: “Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation. We won’t be commenting further while a live investigation is underway.”
The allegations center on footage of Reform insiders discussing how the party could receive donations from a fake U.S. donor, and also asking a bogus company to pay for polls commissioned by the party.
Farage and two of his most senior advisers were caught in the sting. Those two advisers Dan Jukes and James Orr stepped down pending the outcome of an investigation by Reform UK after the documentary was broadcast. They both deny all wrongdoing.
Scotland Yard’s Special Enquiry Team had already been investigating donations worth £500,000 paid to Reform by the mother of convicted fraudster — and close Farage ally — George Cottrell. That investigation is being expanded to cover the fresh claims made following the sting.
“Following a broadcast by Channel 4 News on Thursday, 3 September, the Met received a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party,” the force said in a statement.
“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offences requiring investigation.
“The potential offences are similar in nature to matters already under investigation by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team relating to donations made to the same political party. As a result, these matters will form part of that ongoing investigation.”
The Met will be seeking to obtain “relevant footage” relating to the broadcast last Thursday.
A Verbatim spokesperson said: “Verbatim will cooperate with the police’s investigation.”
The Cottrell strand of the investigation — into whether there was an attempt to conceal a donation by an impermissible donor — has already seen two people interviewed under caution.
Farage was caught on camera in the investigation, lunching with an actor posing as an American donor who appeared to discuss funneling foreign money into Reform UK.
The party leader subsequently told the BBC in an interview that he “frankly wasn’t listening” to the conversation.