Reform UK did not breach electoral law when senior figures discussed how to disguise foreign donations, the party’s own investigation has concluded.
Investigation findings
The investigation, sparked by a Channel 4 News report on Reform’s funding, found two senior figures had “said things that were wrong, careless and in one instance untrue”.
The 27-page report published on Wednesday concluded the proposed £500,000 donation from a foreign source discussed in Channel 4’s report “did not take place” and Reform had not commissioned polls paid for by undercover reporters.
Party response
A Reform spokesperson said the party believed the production company involved in the report, Verbatim Investigations, had “acted unlawfully” and said it would take “appropriate legal action in due course”.
Background
The Channel 4 report, in which undercover journalists posing as an American donor and his son filmed senior Reform figures discussing how to disguise donations, overshadowed the party’s conference in Birmingham last month.
It also saw long-time Nigel Farage aide Dan Jukes and the party’s head of policy James Orr suspended, pending the outcome of Reform’s own investigation.
