'I wasn't even listening,' says Farage over Reform donations scandal

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pushed back against claims his party discussed ways to circumvent UK laws banning donations from overseas, insisting during weekend interviews that he understands donation law 'better than anybody.' His comments came as the party tried to shift attention away from the controversy on the final day of its conference in Birmingham.

On Friday, Farage suspended his close aide Dan Jukes and the party's head of policy, James Orr, after undercover reporters from a group called Verbatim filmed them appearing to discuss ways around electoral rules on foreign donations. The reporters posed as a potential Reform supporter and his wealthy American father, an impermissible donor, who funded £30,000 worth of polling commissioned by Reform that was later published in national newspapers.

Farage himself remains under scrutiny over a separate clip in which he says 'it's all above board' after being told by one of the undercover reporters that discussions had taken place with Jukes and Orr about funnelling money through a UK-registered donor. In a BBC interview, Farage acknowledged he knew it was illegal for foreign companies to donate to UK parties, but said he had been told the funds came via a UK-based family office. When pressed that a reporter had referred to an 'American family office' in his presence, Farage said he was not a compliance officer, was busy campaigning at the time, and 'frankly wasn't even listening.'

The party had hoped to focus the conference's close on policy, with Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick pledging to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 within 100 days of taking office. Jenrick nonetheless had to address the scandal in separate interviews, saying the two suspended individuals were gone and the party was moving forward.

Farage accused 'the establishment' of trying to derail Reform amid the string of allegations, predicting further investigations would follow. The Metropolitan Police are assessing a complaint that Farage, Orr and Jukes may have broken political funding laws; all deny wrongdoing. Separately, West Midlands police appealed for a woman removed from the conference hall during a climate protest on Friday to come forward, after footage appeared to show her being assaulted by audience members.