Farage acknowledges overseas donation scandal appears concerning, insists Reform UK did not break any laws

Nigel Farage has acknowledged that the overseas donation controversy surrounding Reform UK “looks bad” for his party, but he denied that the party had ever accepted foreign money in breach of electoral law.

When asked by BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg to categorically deny that foreign funds had been channelled to his party, Farage responded: “I can … never happened.”

The Reform leader moved to contain the fallout by suspending close aide Dan Jukes and the party’s head of policy, James Orr, on Friday. The suspensions followed an undercover investigation that appeared to show the pair plotting ways to bypass rules on foreign donations.

Farage described their comments as “injudicious at best” and admitted that the optics of the secret filming were problematic for a party that has previously suggested it would conduct politics differently. “This looks bad, as does the sale of peerages, as does government contracts for donations,” he said. “We are not the first people to be involved in a row over donations.”

The Metropolitan Police are now assessing evidence following a complaint that Farage and his aides breached political funding laws. Sources have indicated a full investigation is likely, though all those involved deny any wrongdoing. Scotland Yard may also extend an existing inquiry into whether Reform accepted donations routed through an intermediary from potentially impermissible sources, allegations the party and donors reject.

Farage is already under scrutiny over Reform’s finances, including a £5m gift from a cryptocurrency billionaire shortly before he announced his candidacy for the 2024 general election. He has since stated the money was intended to cover security costs.

In an earlier extract of the BBC interview, Farage said he “wasn’t even listening” during the meeting at the centre of the controversy and claimed he knew donation law “better than anybody,” as he attempted to limit the damage.

Robert Jenrick, Reform’s Treasury spokesperson, said on Sunday that legal advice indicated the party had not breached electoral law regarding foreign donations, though lessons would be drawn from the incident. “We’re going to investigate exactly what happened,” Jenrick told Sky News. “It’s right to have due process. But this is not the way that Reform conducts itself. Like any political party, we seek to abide by the law at all times, and we believe we have in this case.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds commented after the BBC broadcast: “For a political party that don’t like foreigners much, they do seem to have a soft spot for foreign cash. We have rules in this country about how our democracy works and everyone has to stick to them.” He added: “I think you see someone struggling to decide whether they’re really serious about trying to run for power or want to keep the protest going.”