Reform UK is under criminal investigation following allegations it violated electoral law by accepting £32,500 from an American company for polling services. The Metropolitan Police confirmed it’s assessing multiple reports filed by opposition parties, including the Liberal Democrats, Labour, and the Greens.
What appeared to be a legitimate donor relationship was actually an elaborate undercover operation. Journalists from Verbatim Investigations posed as a wealthy American financier and his UK-based son, exposing alleged violations captured on hidden camera.
The footage, broadcast by Channel 4 News, shows Dan Jukes, a senior Reform aide, apparently suggesting how to circumvent donation rules. Standing outside a Westminster pub, Jukes allegedly told the undercover reporter posing as the British son that donations could be made in his name despite the money coming from his American father. “That does strike me as a solution,” he reportedly said, claiming they’d used this od before.
UK electoral law is crystal clear. Foreign companies cannot fund political parties, including paying for research or polling. Violations constitute criminal offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.
Reform dismisses the entire affair as a hoax perpetrated by “foreign-funded climate ce activists.” The party insists it has a robust vetting process approved by the Electoral Commission. An internal investigation into Jukes is underway, though Reform wouldn’t confirm his current employment status.
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart’s letter to police minces no words. She warns of “alarming questions about whether there has been a wider complacency toward foreign interference.”
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