Met Police Open Criminal Inquiry Into Reform UK Over Foreign Donation Claims

The Metropolitan Police has opened a criminal investigation into Reform UK over allegations that senior figures in the party discussed ways of accepting money from overseas in breach of the law on political donations.

The force confirmed on Wednesday that it was examining possible offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the legislation that governs who may fund British political parties. It said it had received several reports after an undercover television investigation was broadcast last week, and that the matters raised were similar in nature to issues its Special Enquiry Team was already looking into in relation to the same party.

Detectives are liaising with the Electoral Commission and the Crown Prosecution Service as their inquiries continue. The opening of an investigation does not mean that any offence has been established.

What is alleged

The allegations stem from a year-long undercover investigation by Channel 4, in which a reporter posed as a representative of prospective American backers. Footage appeared to show two senior party figures discussing how money from a US-based company could be used to pay for opinion polling commissioned by Reform, with sums of more than £30,000 discussed.

The two men at the centre of the report are James Orr, Reform's head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a long-serving aide to the party leader, Nigel Farage. Both stepped down from their roles pending the outcome of an internal inquiry that the party announced shortly after the programme aired.

Under British law, parties may accept donations only from permissible sources, broadly people on a UK electoral register and companies registered and carrying on business in the UK. Money from foreign individuals or overseas companies is banned, and attempting to evade those controls can be a criminal matter. The Electoral Commission said at the time that any suspected attempt to get around the rules was a matter for the police.

How Reform has responded

In a statement after the Met's announcement, the party said: "Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation."

The row overshadowed Reform's annual conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on 5 and 6 September, which the party had billed as a showcase for what it would do in its first 100 days in government. Mr Farage told activists that the two men had done nothing illegal, dismissing what was caught on camera as "loose pub talk" and portraying the coverage as an attempt by the media to smear his party.

There have also been mixed messages from the leadership about the futures of the two officials. The party chairman, Lee Anderson, said there was no chance of either returning to his post, a position that was contradicted by the deputy leader, Richard Tice.

The matter was originally referred to police following complaints from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, both of which have seized on the allegations as Reform continues to challenge the two main parties in the polls.

Why it matters

The investigation arrives at a sensitive moment for Reform, which has spent the summer preparing for the possibility of an early general election. Mr Farage used his conference speech to predict that the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, would go to the country within months.

Party funding has long been one of the most tightly policed areas of British politics. The ban on foreign donations is designed to stop overseas money shaping domestic elections, and breaches can lead to fines from the Electoral Commission or, in more serious cases, criminal prosecution.

For Reform, which has grown rapidly and has limited experience of running a national campaign machine, the case will test its internal controls as much as its public messaging. Business figures who attended the conference have already voiced frustration at the way the donations row dominated the weekend.

What happens next

The Met has not set out a timetable for its inquiries. Officers from the Special Enquiry Team, which handles sensitive and high-profile cases, are expected to review the broadcast material and the reports they have received before deciding whether anyone should be interviewed.

Reform's own internal investigation is continuing separately. The Electoral Commission has the power to open its own investigation into whether the party's reporting and permissibility checks met legal requirements, although it typically waits for criminal proceedings to conclude before doing so.

Image: Laurie Noble via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0