Undercover footage broadcast by a national broadcaster has captured senior figures from Reform UK discussing methods to accept a £500,000 foreign donation while circumventing electoral law. The investigation has prompted internal inquiries, police scrutiny, and the suspension of two senior party officials.
Dan Jukes, a senior aide to party leader Nigel Farage, and James Orr, Reform UK's Head of Policy, have stepped away from their roles pending an internal investigation. According to reporting on the matter, both officials have been suspended following the broadcast of the undercover report on 3 September 2026.
What was caught on film?
In the footage, Jukes was filmed meeting with a man presented as the UK-based son of a wealthy American businessman. When the undercover reporter raised concerns that his father could not legally donate directly to the party, Jukes responded by suggesting an alternative structure. Standing outside a pub in Westminster, Jukes stated
"you do realise that you can do it?"According to the national broadcaster's report, Jukes was proposing that the donation be registered in the UK-based son's name, with funds originating from the American father. Jukes then remarked
"Actually that does strike me as a solution,"and added
"That's one of the ways in which we do it,"in exchanges that appeared to reference previous instances of this arrangement.
Under UK electoral law, permissible donors must be either UK registered voters or companies registered in the United Kingdom. A foreign national cannot legally donate to a British political party, but a UK-based family member can—creating the loophole that Jukes appeared to exploit. However, any donation of more than £500 from an impermissible source must be declared to the Electoral Commission and returned within 30 days. If the party retains it beyond that period, it is deemed to have accepted the donation, which could lead to a fine and potential criminal investigation.
What happened at the Clacton lunch?
Later footage showed a lunch in Clacton, Essex, attended by both the undercover reporter posing as the son and another operative posing as his American father, alongside Jukes and Farage himself. When the son explained that he would be the registered donor while his father would send money to him afterward, Farage responded by saying
"it's all above board"and thanked both men. The exchange suggested Farage was aware of and approved the proposed arrangement.
On 5 September 2026, Farage said he was in fact asking whether the arrangement was above board rather than confirming it. He also characterised the remarks made by his aides as
"loose pub talk"involving
"a bit of boasting, a bit of jack-the-lad-dery going on there."Farage stated that
"Donations from the names that were mentioned have not occurred, don't exist… in our accounts."According to reporting on the investigation, the proposed £500,000 donation was never made.
What about the polling payments?
James Orr is also under internal investigation. Earlier in the undercover operation, Orr had suggested to the reporter that his father might pay for opinion polling to support Reform's campaigning. The polling would cost £18,000 plus VAT, with Orr proposing that the polling company send the bill to the undercover reporter rather than directly to the party. He is shown saying this would
"technically be a donation in kind"but
"the reality is we could easily get away with it."
The national broadcaster's investigation found that Reform commissioned three polls totalling £32,500 between January and July 2026, and the public was not informed about who funded or commissioned them. According to reporting on the matter, the polling company involved was JL Partners. One poll appeared on the front page of the Telegraph newspaper under the headline "Labour would face wipeout if elections went ahead"; another on the front page of the Times with the headline "Reform vote in unions at same level as Labour". The Telegraph, Times, and JL Partners have all said they were not told who had commissioned and paid for the polls.
Failing to disclose such funding would breach electoral law, and accepting foreign funding in this manner would also be illegal. The legal definition for a political party donation includes payments for studies and research. Any legitimate donations from permissible donors worth more than £11,180 in a calendar year must, by law, be declared to the Electoral Commission. The £32,500 polling payment does not appear to have been declared. According to reporting on the investigation, the matter was reported to the Market Research Standards Board.
Farage said on 5 September that the polls in question had been commissioned by an independent third party and that Reform had
"not done anything wrong."According to a statement from JL Partners,
"sometimes people with a party alignment make suggestions about potential clients who may be interested in commissioning and paying for polling"in the UK and abroad, and that it would not expect to be told the precise relationship between Reform and the US-based company.
What other donations were mentioned?
Elsewhere in the film, Jukes appears to list other supporters of Reform UK who have potentially donated to the party through UK residents. The names, made in the context of discussing the proposed £500,000 arrangement, are bleeped out. He is shown telling the undercover reporter that various individuals donate to Reform through family members, saying
"The [REDACTED] are Reform donors. It's the father and it's the son, so that's one of the ways in which we do it."It would be for the Electoral Commission and the police to assess any previous Reform donations and their record of declarations.
What is the legal framework for political donations?
An Electoral Commission spokesperson explained that
"The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500."The spokesperson added that
"Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider."
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 specifically outlaws knowingly taking steps to disguise or conceal that a donation has come from an impermissible source. It can be a crime for someone to conceal money spent on expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the party and to mislead a party on the source of a donation. The maximum sentence is 12 months in prison.
What is the police response?
The Metropolitan Police confirmed awareness of the allegations on 3 September 2026, stating that
"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."According to reporting on the matter, the Met's Special Enquiry Team is examining possible offences under section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It is understood that the force has not yet formally begun an investigation.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have reported Reform to the Metropolitan Police. According to reporting on the matter, the Liberal Democrats have also asked Parliament's standards watchdog to investigate, citing possible breaches of sections 56 and 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
Nick Vamos, former head of specialist crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, explained:
"It is very common for allegations of electoral offences to be reported to the police, especially by political rivals looking to score points,"adding that the police would assess the evidence neutrally to decide whether a full investigation is required. Such offences very rarely lead to prosecution. Between 2011 and 2021, the Electoral Commission referred eight cases to the Met, none of which resulted in charges.
What is the broader context of Reform UK's fundraising?
This undercover operation comes amid a pattern of scrutiny surrounding Reform UK's financial practices. The Electoral Commission has previously referred separate donation issues involving the party to the Metropolitan Police, with investigations beginning in February 2025. Additionally, the commission has been examining a £30,000 private-flights donation to Reform UK and moved it into a formal assessment stage. Reform has also faced earlier scrutiny over donations from Fiona Cottrell, mother of convicted fraudster George Cottrell, with the Electoral Commission already making a referral to police regarding those contributions.
According to reporting on the undercover investigation, Reform still relies on a small number of major donors with overseas links. The government has proposed new donations rules that would cap overseas funding at £100,000 annually and require donors to have been on the UK electoral register for at least 12 months and be genuinely resident at a UK address. Under the planned legislation, gifts exceeding that cap would have to be returned if deemed impermissible.
What is Reform UK's response?
Reform UK has denied any wrongdoing, claiming in a statement that the party
"has been the target of a hoax perpetuated by foreign funded climate change activists."The party identified the undercover group as Verbatim Investigations, which it alleges is a front for the Center for Climate Reporting, incorporated in July 2026. Reform stated that the methods of the group's founder, Lawrence Carter, have previously been criticised by members of the United States Congress for producing
"videos [that] appear to be substantially edited, creating an incomplete record of the conversation."
Reform also asserted that it maintains
"a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission."Robert Jenrick, Reform's economy spokesperson, told a national broadcaster's Today programme:
"Nigel [Farage] got rid of the two people who did this…he acted swiftly, they've gone."
What happens next?
Reform UK's internal investigations into both Dan Jukes and James Orr remain ongoing, with no public completion date announced. The Metropolitan Police is still assessing whether to launch a formal investigation, with any formal inquiry likely to take months to reach specialist detectives or prosecutors. The Electoral Commission says it is
"in touch"with the police. The government's new overseas-donations legislation is expected to be passed before the £100,000 cap can take effect.
Key Facts
- Undercover footage shows Reform UK senior aide Dan Jukes suggesting a method to accept a £500,000 foreign donation while circumventing electoral law, with Nigel Farage filmed approving the proposed arrangement
- The party commissioned three polls totalling £32,500 without publicly disclosing their funding sources, which would breach electoral law if the funds came from an impermissible source
- Dan Jukes and James Orr have been suspended pending internal investigations following the broadcast of the undercover report on 3 September 2026
- The Metropolitan Police is assessing the allegations and examining possible offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, but has not yet launched a formal investigation
- Reform UK denies wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of a hoax by climate change activists, while the Electoral Commission and police continue to examine the matter
