Reform aides quit over claims party broke foreign donor rules
Reform aides quit over claims party broke foreign donor rules
Dominic PennaFri, September 4, 2026 at 7:47 AM UTC
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Dan Jukes in a still from footage recorded during a Channel 4 investigation into the Reform aide - CH4 News / Verbatim / UNPIXS
Two senior Reform UK aides have stepped down over claims the party breached political donation rules.
Dan Jukes and James Orr, two long-standing members of Nigel Farage’s inner circle, have left their positions after the party launched an internal investigation into allegations it had polling paid for by an overseas company.
The resignations threaten to overshadow the first full day of Reform’s annual party conference in Birmingham, which begins at 11am on Friday.
They come after a Channel 4 News documentary claimed Reform had taken funding from a US firm for three polls it had commissioned earlier this year costing £32,500.
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.
‘Both individuals involved have stepped down’
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.”
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have reported Reform to the Metropolitan Police and the force said it was assessing the reports. Reform, which is holding its party conference in Birmingham, denies any wrongdoing.
The revelations by Channel 4 and Verbatim come amid ongoing scrutiny of funding that both Mr Farage and his party have received.
The Reform leader faces a parliamentary investigation into whether he should have declared a £5m gift from the crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne given shortly before he was first elected to the Commons in 2024.
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour Party chairman, 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.”
Met Police ‘will assess this matter’
A Met Police spokesman 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 spokesman 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.”
The undercover work was conducted by Verbatim, an investigative group independent of Channel 4 News that was founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting.
The Centre for Climate Reporting focuses on undercover investigations about climate change.
On their website they claim: “Multinational corporations, high net worth individuals, populist movements, petrostates – across the world, powerful forces are obstructing efforts to tackle climate change and threaten even democracy itself.”
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Reform claims it was ‘target of a hoax’
Reform said it had “been the target of a hoax perpetuated by foreign-funded, climate change activists posing as would-be party donors”.
It added: “The party denies any wrongdoing. Reform UK has a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission.”
Before he resigned, Dr 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.
The polls Reform commissioned were run by political research firm JL Partners.
Two of the polls were reported on by The Telegraph and one was published in The Times.
A spokesman for Telegraph Media Group said: “We are reviewing our future relationship with this polling company, as we believe we have been misled. As a matter of precaution we have suspended the relevant articles while the British Polling Council conducts a review.”
The Times said it “was not made aware of Reform’s involvement in commissioning and arranging payment of the poll”.
Reform’s involvement was not shared with The Telegraph.
JL Partners said it held itself to high standards.
A spokesman said: “Despite there being no concern about the accuracy of our work, the report did reveal weaknesses in our procedures.
“For that reason JL Partners is reviewing those procedures in order to eliminate possible grey areas and ambiguities and strengthen our safeguards for the future.”
The British Polling Council said its members must declare publicly who had commissioned their polls.
A spokesman said: “From the information provided to us by Channel 4 News, it appears there may have been deliberate breaches of this rule. We will be seeking further information from the BPC member concerned.”
Mr Orr, a Cambridge University theologian with strong links to the White House, became a senior adviser to Mr Farage in Oct 2025. He then took over as Reform’s head of policy from Zia Yusuf in February this year after Mr Yusuf took on the home affairs brief.
Mr Jukes has been one of Mr Farage’s closest aides for more than a decade, having been by his side since his time as one of Ukip’s most prominent youth members during the Brexit referendum.
Mr Anderson told Sky News: “There’s no chance of them coming back. They’ve stepped aside. We’re a serious party, you know, and sometimes in politics, you have to make tough decisions, harsh decisions.
“I think this probably was an easier decision, being given the option to stand down. They have gone.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
