Police launch criminal investigation into allegations Britain’s hard-right Reform UK party broke campaign finance law

Stefan Rousseau/PA/AP

Police have launched a criminal investigation into the hard-right Reform UK party days after an explosive undercover report alleged they breached campaign finance laws by using foreign donors to pay for political polling.

The announcement follows an undercover sting broadcast by British news outlet Channel 4 , which showed a reporter meeting with the party’s former head of policy James Orr and senior aide Dan Jukes and arranging for a US company to fund three polls commissioned by the party.

These polls were then reported by national newspapers who unknowingly characterized them as independent, helping to drive a key narrative before May’s local elections: that Reform is in the ascendancy and poses a genuine electoral threat to the governing center-left Labour Party and opposition center-right Conservatives.

A Reform UK spokesman told CNN the party “denies any wrongdoing and will cooperate fully with the investigation.”

The undercover reporter posed as the British son of a wealthy American who was willing to funnel money to Reform through his son, since foreign donations to political parties are prohibited under electoral law.

Jukes and Orr, who have both stepped down following the report, later arranged for the reporter and an actor posing as his wealthy father to meet the party’s leader Nigel Farage, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, to discuss a much larger donation which would originate from the US.

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“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,” a spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police told CNN.

“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offences requiring investigation.”

This investigation will merge with a pre-existing investigation into other donations to the party, the Met added.

Reform has faced a drumbeat of allegations into its finances ever since the Guardian reported in April that Farage had accepted a £5 million donation from a Thai-based billionaire in 2024 that he did not disclose. It has heaped unprecedented political pressure onto Farage, who sought to regain the initiative by resigning from parliament and successfully standing for his seat again over the summer.

Stefan Rousseau/PA/AP

在一份爆炸性的卧底报告指控极右翼的英国改革党利用外国捐助者支付政治民意调查费用，违反竞选财务法几天后，警方对该党展开了刑事调查。

此前，英国新闻媒体第四频道播出了一段卧底调查视频，视频显示一名记者与该党前政策主管詹姆斯·奥尔和高级助手丹·朱克斯会面，并安排一家美国公司资助该党委托进行的三项民意调查。

这些民调随后被全国性报纸报道，这些报纸在不知情的情况下将其描述为独立民调，从而在 5 月的地方选举前推动了一种关键叙事：改革党正在崛起，对执政的中左翼工党和反对派中右翼保守党构成了真正的选举威胁。

英国改革党发言人告诉CNN，该党“否认有任何不当行为，并将全力配合调查”。

卧底记者假扮成一位富有的美国人的英国儿子，这位美国人愿意通过儿子向改革党输送资金，因为选举法禁止外国向政党捐款。

报道发布后，朱克斯和奥尔双双辞职。之后，他们安排记者和一名假扮成记者富有的父亲的演员与该党领袖奈杰尔·法拉奇（美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的亲密盟友）会面，讨论一笔数额更大的捐款，这笔捐款将来自美国。

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伦敦警察厅发言人告诉 CNN：“在 9 月 3 日星期四第四频道新闻播出后，伦敦警察厅收到了一些与某个政党的捐款和民意调查有关的报告。”

“侦探们已经评估了所提供的信息，并确定存在需要调查的潜在违法行为。”

伦敦警察厅补充说，这项调查将与此前对该党其他捐款的调查合并进行。

自《卫报》4月报道法拉奇接受了一位泰国亿万富翁在2024年捐赠的500万英镑，但他并未披露这笔款项以来，改革党就一直面临着对其财务状况的质疑。这给法拉奇带来了前所未有的政治压力，他试图通过辞去议员职务并在夏季再次成功竞选议席来重新掌握主动权。