The Metropolitan Police have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Reform UK broke the law in relation to foreign funding.
It follows the broadcast of an investigation by Channel 4 and independent journalists Verbatim on Thursday.
Two top aides stepped down from their roles on Friday after the undercover footage showed them talking about how to get money from a foreign donor and ask them to pay for polling.
One of the aides, Dan Jukes, appeared to discuss options of getting around the law to the undercover reporter, who was posing as a donor.
He suggested that money could be transferred into a UK account and implied the party had already done this.
James Orr, the party’s head of policy, was seen on camera suggesting that an American Company could pay for polling to support Reform UK’s campaign.
To donate to a political party in Britain, you must be a UK registered voter, or a company registered in the UK.
Party leader Nigel Farage said the video was an “exercise in entrapment” and that the party had not done anything wrong during a press conference.
The party is already facing criminal investigations relating to donations from a company controlled by Deputy Leader Richard Tice, a fundraising vehicle that gave the party money in the run-up to the 2024 general election.
A Met spokesperson said: “Following a broadcast by Channel 4 News on Thursday, 3 September, the Met received a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party.
“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offences requiring investigation.
“The potential offences are similar in nature to matters already under investigation by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team relating to donations made to the same political party. As a result, these matters will form part of that ongoing investigation.
“All allegations under investigation relate to potential offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
“As part of enquiries, detectives are seeking to obtain relevant footage relating to the broadcast on Thursday, 3 September.
“Detectives continue to liaise closely with the Electoral Commission and Crown Prosecution Service as enquiries progress.”
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation. We won’t be commenting further while a live investigation is underway.”
Verbatim, a team of investigative journalists who carried out the undercover filming have said it “will cooperate with the police’s investigation” and confirmed that the Met have reached out to them.
At the party conference in Birmingham last week, Farage told ITV News he was “100% confident” his party had never taken illegal foreign donations.
On Wednesday morning, Tice told ITV News he was not aware of any police contact following the airing of the undercover footage.
He said: “I’ve no idea because I’m not involved in the investigation. You wouldn’t expect me to know because there are very clear distinctions and that was just how the nature of the process works.”
The Liberal Democrats originally reported Reform UK to the police after the undercover footage was made public.
Party leader Sir Ed Davey told ITV News it was right the police had launched an investigation.
He said: “The Channel 4 documentary seemed to show that they knew they were taking illegal donations and indeed were encouraging and facilitating it. That’s why we wrote to the police.
“So I think it’s good news for our democracy and for people out there that the police are taking this so seriously.”
Labour Party Chairwoman, Bridget Phillipson described Reform UK as a party of “sleaze and scandal” and called on them to “come clean”.
In a statement, Phillipson said: “Nigel Farage and Reform must stop the desperate deflection tactics and come clean with the police and the British public about their dodgy finances. No stone can be left unturned in getting to the truth over these incredibly serious allegations.”
Leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski also welcomed the investigation, adding: “These are serious allegations and it’s right that they’re fully investigated, and where appropriate, figures in Reform face the full force of the law.
“Nigel Farage and Lee Anderson hoped they could pin all this on two of their most senior advisors, but they have more questions to answer about how much illegal activity they knew about.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
