Undercover footage suggests Reform officials discussed bypassing foreign donation rules

Channel 4 has broadcast undercover footage, filmed ahead of the Reform UK party conference, appearing to show senior figures in the party discussing ways to get around electoral rules on foreign donations.

The footage was gathered by a group called Verbatim, funded by the Centre for Climate Reporting, whose journalists posed as a prospective Reform supporter and his wealthy American father — someone who would not legally be allowed to donate to a UK party. The fake father funded roughly £30,000 of polling commissioned by Reform, which was not attributed to the party when it was reported by the Telegraph and the Times. The benefit was not disclosed to the Electoral Commission.

In one recording, senior adviser Dan Jukes appeared to suggest the American father could funnel a larger donation through his son. When the arrangement was later explained to Nigel Farage, he was recorded telling the pair, "Thank you both."

Reform's head of policy, James Orr, was filmed saying Farage "doesn't know, won't know" about the funding source and would "rather not know," while describing the arrangement as fully legitimate. Farage was separately filmed praising the polling's impact, saying it had "worked."

Jukes was also recorded introducing the undercover operative at a party event as a "key donor for [an] off the book project" and calling the polling "clandestine" and "hugely important."

Reform rejected any wrongdoing, describing the investigation as a hoax by climate activists using a disguised company name. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said the affair reached "right to the top" of the party, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for both police and Electoral Commission investigations.

The revelations add to ongoing scrutiny of Reform's finances, including a standards inquiry into a separate £5m donation to Farage and new legislation capping annual donations from donors who have not been UK residents for at least 12 months — rules that could affect some of the party's largest backers.