Reform UK Reported to Police Over Claim It Took Money From Foreign Company

Reform UK, a political party in Britain, has been reported to the police over claims it illegally accepted money from a foreign company. Channel 4 News revealed that the party took £32,500 from what looked like a US business to pay for three opinion polls. Opinion polls are surveys that ask people about their views on politics. Under British law, political parties cannot accept donations from foreign companies, and breaking this rule can be a criminal offence.

The people who gave the money were actually undercover reporters from an investigative group called Verbatim. They pretended to be an American financier and his son, who lives in the UK, in order to catch the party breaking the rules. Reform UK said it was the victim of a hoax and denied doing anything wrong. The party also claimed it has a strong process for checking who donates to it.

James Orr, a senior adviser to Nigel Farage, was named as the person who helped arrange the funding deal. He argued that no money went directly to Reform UK and that the polls were simply public surveys paid for by an independent person. However, critics say the arrangement was set up in a way that hid the payments from official records. This would be a serious breach of electoral law.

The Liberal Democrats wrote to both the Metropolitan Police and the Electoral Commission to report the issue. Lib Dem politician Lisa Smart said the case raised serious questions about foreign interference in British politics. She argued that the way the money moved around was designed to avoid it being recorded as a formal donation. Labour also said it would report the matter to police, and the Greens called for a full investigation.

The Metropolitan Police said they were aware of the reports and would look into the matter. The Electoral Commission, which oversees how political parties handle money, said any attempt to hide donations was something the police should investigate. Both bodies said they were taking the claims seriously. No arrests or charges have been made so far.

The scandal hit at a very awkward moment for Reform UK, which was holding its yearly conference in Birmingham. Farage was due to give a major speech there, but the news overshadowed the event. The party has also been falling in opinion polls, dropping about 10 percentage points from last year to around 23 percent. A recent poll even showed the Conservative Party pulling ahead of Reform.

Farage was already under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog over a separate £5 million donation he received just before becoming an MP. He says that money was a private gift for his personal security and did not need to be declared. Questions have also been raised about gifts from his long-time associate George Cottrell and Cottrell's mother. The new scandal has added to growing pressure on Farage and his party.