The Metropolitan Police has widened a criminal investigation into Reform UK to include allegations exposed by an undercover Channel 4 documentary.
Scotland Yard said detectives had assessed reports concerning political donations and polling before concluding that there were “potential offences requiring investigation”.
The allegations will now form part of an existing investigation being conducted by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team into donations made to Reform.
Detectives are seeking the footage behind the Channel 4 broadcast and are working with the Electoral Commission and Crown Prosecution Service as the inquiry develops.
Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and has promised to cooperate fully with police.
No arrests have been made in connection with the latest allegations and no one has been interviewed under caution over the Channel 4 material.
What the Metropolitan Police said
The investigation follows reports submitted after Channel 4 broadcast the undercover documentary on September 3.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said:
“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offences requiring investigation.”
The force said the suspected offences were similar to matters already being examined by its Special Enquiry Team, meaning the new claims would be incorporated into that inquiry.
Police are now attempting to obtain the relevant undercover recordings. The Met has not identified any particular individual as a suspect or specified which potential offences are being considered.
The decision represents a significant change from the initial assessment of the documentary. The allegations are now subject to a live criminal investigation rather than simply being reviewed to decide whether further action is necessary.
The development was first reported by outlets including HuffPost UK and Reuters.
What the documentary alleged
The investigation was produced by the investigative organisation Verbatim and broadcast by Channel 4 News.
Reporters posed as a British political supporter and his wealthy American father, who would not ordinarily be permitted to donate directly to a UK political party.
The undercover operation recorded conversations involving James Orr, Reform’s then head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a longstanding adviser to Nigel Farage.
More than £30,000 worth of opinion polling was funded by the supposed American businessman as part of the operation. The polls were reportedly commissioned to benefit Reform and subsequently appeared in national newspapers without their true source of funding being publicly disclosed.
If the polling amounted to a benefit accepted by the party from an impermissible foreign donor, it could potentially be treated as an unlawful donation in kind. That is among the questions the authorities will now need to determine.
The footage also appeared to show Jukes discussing how a proposed £500,000 contribution from the American businessman could be channelled through his UK-based son.
No £500,000 donation was ultimately made.
Farage appeared in meeting with undercover donors
Farage was filmed meeting the supposed donors in Clacton after some of the polling had been published.
He praised the impact of the results, describing the polling as “amazing” and saying it had provided “bang for buck”.
Footage also showed Farage thanking the two men after the proposed funding structure was discussed.
Farage subsequently said he had not been listening to that part of the conversation and had no knowledge of an illegal arrangement.
He has maintained that Reform did not accept unlawful foreign funding and described the undercover operation as entrapment.
Speaking after the documentary, Farage characterised some of the comments made by his former advisers as “loose pub talk” and said claims that similar routes had previously been used were untrue.
During a later interview with Robert Peston, Farage said he was “100 per cent confident” that Reform had never received money through an illicit arrangement.
Two senior Reform figures leave their roles
Orr and Jukes stepped down from their Reform roles after the documentary was broadcast.
Both men have denied wrongdoing.
Farage initially sought to distance the party from them by describing the pair as contractors, although Jukes had worked closely with him for more than a decade.
Reform also launched an internal investigation into the footage.
The party said in response to the police announcement:
“Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation.”
It added that it would not comment further while the criminal inquiry remained active.
The opening of an investigation does not establish that Reform, Farage, Orr, Jukes or anybody else committed an offence. Police must now examine the complete recordings, financial arrangements and communications before deciding whether there is sufficient evidence for further action.
Electoral Commission considers regulatory action
The Electoral Commission is separately examining the allegations.
The watchdog said it was considering all relevant information and possible regulatory steps while remaining in contact with the police.
UK political parties can accept donations only from permissible sources. These include individuals registered to vote in the UK and certain companies carrying on business in the country.
Political support does not have to arrive as a direct cash transfer to be regulated. Goods or services provided free of charge or at a substantial discount can also qualify as donations in kind.
That means the investigation is likely to examine who commissioned the polling, who paid for it, whether Reform accepted the benefit and what party officials knew about its funding.
Responsibility for criminal investigations rests with the police, while the Electoral Commission can pursue regulatory breaches and impose civil sanctions within its powers.
Existing Reform funding inquiry
The Channel 4 allegations will be added to a pre-existing Met investigation concerning other donations to Reform UK.
That inquiry has examined whether the true source of political funding was concealed and whether inaccurate information may have been supplied to the party’s treasurer.
It includes allegations surrounding £500,000 donated by Fiona Cottrell before the 2024 general election. Fiona Cottrell and her son, former Farage aide George Cottrell, have previously been interviewed under caution voluntarily.
No charges have been announced. Lawyers for George Cottrell have said his mother made her own decisions about political donations.
Farage is also facing a separate parliamentary standards investigation concerning a £5 million personal gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. That process is independent of the Met’s criminal inquiry.
Pressure grows on Reform
The police decision adds to the scrutiny surrounding Reform after its annual conference became dominated by questions about political funding.
Farage had intended to use the Birmingham gathering to promote the party’s plans for government. Instead, he faced repeated questions about the documentary, his judgement in appointing Orr and Jukes and the other investigations concerning Reform’s finances.
The party insists it is being subjected to disproportionate attention because it threatens the established political parties.
Police must now decide whether the undercover conversations reflected loose and inappropriate speculation, as Farage argues, or provide evidence of possible attempts to breach election law.
Until that work is completed, the allegations remain unproven. The political damage, however, is no longer limited to an embarrassing television sting: Reform is now dealing with an expanded criminal investigation.
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