Channel 4 broadcast footage from a lunch in Clacton in Essex, with a reporter posing as the UK-based son, and an actor posing as his supposed American father. Opposite them are both Jukes and Farage.
Farage says “it’s all above board” after the son has told him he has been in discussions with both Jukes and Reform’s policy chief, James Orr about it for some time.
“I’ll be the registered donor,” the son says. “But then dad will send the money to me, and then as soon as that’s done and all those conversations are had the money is available.”
“Thank you. Well, both of you. Thank you,” Farage is heard saying.
Electoral law sets out that to be a permissible donor to a UK political party you must be a UK registered voter, or a company registered in the UK.
In this instance, the son would be a permissible donor, his father would not be.
Earlier in Channel 4 News’s film, prior to the suggested £500,000 donation, Channel 4 says Orr suggests to the undercover reporter that perhaps his father could pay for opinion polling to aid Reform’s campaigning.
The poll would cost £18,000 plus VAT – and Orr suggests that perhaps the polling company could send the bill to the undercover reporter.
In all, Channel 4 News says Reform commissioned three polls costing £32,500 in total and that the public was not told who commissioned or funded them.
Not disclosing such funding would be illegal and accepting this kind of foreign funding would also be illegal.
An Electoral Commission spokesperson said on Thursday: “The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500.
“Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider.”
On Friday morning, Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson told Sky News there was “no chance” of Jukes and Orr returning to the party.
This appeared to be contradicted by Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice, who told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme minutes later that “it’s not actually, in the nicest possible way, for any individual to make that determination” as the investigation continues.
