Reform UK reported to police over claims of illegal donations as Farage opens conference

Published on 04/09/2026 - 8:31 GMT+2

Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has been reported to the Metropolitan Police and the Electoral Commission over alleged illegal donations.

The Liberal Democrats Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart said the case involved "the acceptance and concealment of a donation from an impermissible donor."

The complaint follows an undercover investigation aired by UK broadcaster Channel 4 News from a company called Verbatim who captured members of the Reform party discussing donations from the son of an American financier who was actually an undercover reporter.

Under UK law, donations from foreign investors are illegal.

The ruling Labour Party has also said it intends to report the matter to the police.

Reform has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the report as "a hoax perpetuated by foreign-funded, climate change activists posing as would-be party donors," insisting the party has "a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission."

In a statement the party said "While Reform UK denies all wrongdoing in relation to the Channel 4 hit job this evening, as a matter of course, the Party is launching an internal investigation regarding the circumstances surrounding the broadcast."

A former Electoral Commission chief executive has said the evidence points to possible criminal offences.

Conference opens under cloud of scrutiny

The allegations land just as Reform opens its annual conference in Birmingham, where Farage is seeking to reassert his authority after a difficult summer that has seen the party slip behind Labour in the polls.

He is already the subject of a separate parliamentary standards investigation into a £5 million (€5.82m) donation from crypto entrepreneur Christopher Harborne, which Farage says was intended to cover his personal security and did not need to be declared because it was received before he was elected as an MP.

Farage has repeatedly rejected any suggestion of impropriety, saying: "I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all."

Deputy leader Richard Tice is also facing separate questions over undeclared gifts.