Met Probe Into Reform UK Revives £32,500 Question Over Who Paid for Polls That Put Party on Front Pages

The Metropolitan Police are investigating Reform UK over alleged breaches of political funding law, examining donations and £32,500 of polling that helped put the party on national front pages after an undercover Channel 4 News broadcast last week.

The inquiry has renewed scrutiny of who funded polling connected with Reform's campaigning and whether any payments complied with electoral rules.

Footage recorded by an undercover investigator showed senior Reform figures discussing possible routes for support from an American donor who was presented as unable to donate directly to the party under UK electoral law. Reform UK has denied wrongdoing and said it would cooperate fully with the police investigation.

Investigation Expands After Undercover Broadcast

The Met said it received 'a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party' after the Channel 4 News film, produced with Verbatim Investigations, was broadcast on Thursday, 3 September.

Police said detectives had assessed the information and found 'potential offences requiring investigation'. Those matters are being incorporated into an existing inquiry by the Met's Special Enquiry Team into other donations linked to Reform UK.

'All allegations under investigation relate to potential offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000,' the force said. Detectives are seeking footage connected with the broadcast and are liaising with the Electoral Commission and Crown Prosecution Service as inquiries continue.

The programme followed an undercover investigator posing as the son of an American donor. In the recording, the investigator raised concerns that his father would not be permitted to donate directly to Reform under UK electoral law.

Dan Jukes, then chief of staff to Nigel Farage, appears in the footage suggesting that a donation could be made in the UK-based son's name even though the money would have come from his American father.

Elsewhere, James Orr, then Reform's head of policy, appears to suggest that the father could instead pay for opinion polling supporting one of the party's campaigns.

A separate lunch in Clacton also featured Farage and Jukes, with a proposed £500,000 contribution discussed through the donor's son. Channel 4 News said no payment was made.

Previous report said Reform had commissioned three polls by JL Partners between January and July 2026, costing £32,500 in total.

The broadcaster reported that the payments were made by a US company set up and controlled by Verbatim, whose journalists were conducting the undercover operation.

Two of the polls subsequently appeared on the front pages of the Telegraph and Times, with the newspapers saying they had not been told of Reform's involvement in commissioning or arranging payment for the polling.

Reform UK Faces Questions Over Donations and Polling

The broadcast had immediate political consequences. Jukes and Orr stepped down from their roles after the footage emerged, while the police inquiry widened.

Farage later told the BBC he 'frankly wasn't listening' during the discussion about the potential donation. Separately, he described comments by his aides as 'loose pub talk, including a couple of boasts that simply were not true'.

Jukes denied 'any wrongdoing' and said he had 'stepped back from politics in order to clear my name'. Orr said last week that he would cooperate fully with Reform UK's internal investigation.

The Met's Special Enquiry Team was already investigating donations made to Reform ahead of the July 2024 general election following a referral from the Electoral Commission. Police are also examining transactions involving Britain Means Business Ltd, a company controlled by Reform deputy leader Richard Tice.

It has been reported that Fiona Cottrell transferred £1.075 million to the company in June 2024. Britain Means Business subsequently made two £250,000 donations to Reform.

Under UK electoral law, permissible donors include individuals registered on a UK electoral register and UK-registered companies that are incorporated in and carry on business in the UK, among other permitted sources.

A Reform UK spokesman said the party 'denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation'. 'We won't be commenting further while a live investigation is under way.'

Verbatim Investigations also said it would cooperate with police. With detectives seeking the broadcast footage and working alongside the Electoral Commission and prosecutors, the next stage will depend on what investigators establish from the recordings, financial records and existing donation inquiries.