LONDON — Two senior Reform UK officials, James Orr and Dan Jukes, announced their resignations Friday following a television documentary that alleged breaches of political donation rules.
An undercover investigation by Channel 4 News claimed Reform UK officials arranged for polling services to be paid by an overseas company. The documentary showed Dan Jukes, a long-term aide to party leader Nigel Farage, suggesting methods to an undercover reporter for evading electoral law regarding foreign donations.
James Orr, Reform's head of policy, also resigned. During the investigation, Farage was recorded saying that all was "above board" as the reporter informed him of prior talks with Orr.
The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats reported Reform UK to police following the documentary. A Met Police spokesperson confirmed awareness of media reports concerning political party donations and an alleged breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 related to polling.
Reform UK said it would launch an internal investigation into the allegations. The party initially dismissed the claims as a "hoax."
Farage said in a Friday radio interview that Reform UK had "broken no laws." He acknowledged that "entrapped conversations don't look good" and cited this as the reason for the party's investigation. He accused other political parties of "selling peerages" and attributed missteps to "a couple of our contractors" who "said things that shouldn't have been said."
The resignations come during broader funding controversies affecting Reform UK in recent months. The party has faced scrutiny over an undeclared personal gift of 5 million pounds to Farage from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Harborne has contributed more than 25 million pounds to Reform UK. Both criminal and parliamentary investigations into Harborne's donations are ongoing.
During these controversies, Farage resigned his parliamentary seat to trigger a by-election, framing it as a challenge to "the establishment." Other major parties did not field candidates against him. Farage won the by-election, securing nearly 10,000 votes.
