REFORM UK OFFICIALS RESIGN AMID FRESH FUNDING SCANDAL

Channel 4 investigation alleges electoral law breaches as Nigel Farage defends party’s record

Two officials from Britain’s Reform UK have resigned amid the latest allegations surrounding the far-right party’s political funding. James Orr and Dan Jukes announced their departures on Friday, following the broadcast of an investigative documentary by Channel 4 News. Reform UK said it would investigate the allegations.

Undercover investigation raises donation concerns

The documentary alleged that the two officials breached political donation rules by arranging for polling to be paid for by an overseas company. In the programme, Jukes was shown suggesting to an undercover reporter how donations could be made to Reform from abroad while avoiding electoral law restrictions. During a conversation at the table, party leader Nigel Farage said everything was “above board” as the reporter told him he had been in talks with Orr for some time. Jukes, a long-term aide to Farage, and Orr, Reform’s head of policy, resigned on the eve of the party’s annual conference. Farage, who has faced repeated questions over money received personally and by Reform, said in a radio interview on Friday that the party had “broken no laws”. However, he added, “entrapped conversations don’t look good, and that’s why we’ve [launched the party investigation]”.

Police and rival parties respond

A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police said it was “aware of media reporting … involving political party donations and an alleged breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 relating to polling”. The ruling Labour Party and opposition Liberal Democrats said they had reported Reform UK to police following the revelations. The party had initially dismissed the documentary as a “hoax”. Farage sought to counter the criticism by accusing other political parties of “selling peerages”. “In the world of political funding, all sorts of things have been done over decades that are wrong,” he asserted. “We as a party have done nothing wrong. A couple of our contractors have said things that shouldn’t have been said.”

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https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

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Wider funding controversy

The latest allegations add to a series of funding scandals that have affected Reform UK in recent months.The most damaging so far has been the disclosure of an undeclared personal gift of 5 million pounds ($6.7m) to Farage from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Harborne has also given Reform more than 25 million pounds ($33.6m).Criminal and parliamentary investigations into the donations are continuing. Scrutiny has focused on Tether, Harborne’s cryptocurrency, which has been widely linked to drug cartels, fraud and human trafficking.

Farage faces renewed political scrutiny

Amid the controversy, Farage made international headlines by resigning his parliamentary seat to trigger a by-election, presenting himself as a challenger to “the establishment”.Other major parties dismissed the move as a stunt and declined to field candidates. Farage won comfortably, although the nearly 10,000 votes secured by his closest rival, “intergalactic space warrior” Count Binface, highlighted the level of opposition. The latest resignations come as Reform UK prepares for its annual conference, with the party facing renewed questions over its funding practices and political credibility.