Two Reform UK officials have stepped down following the bombshell undercover report into alleged secret donations aired last night on Channel 4.
There have been a number of calls for an investigation into Nigel Farage and his party after the leader of Reform UK appeared to accept illicit foreign donations in undercover footage.
An undercover investigation led by Channel 4, Verbatim and a group of investigative journalists showed how Reform UK were willing to find ways to bend the law on party funding to secure foreign investment.
In the wake of the report, the Lib Dems shared a letter addressed to the Met Police asking for an investigation to be opened.
As per reports, the Met Police have said they are assessing the allegations.
Now, the two men at the centre of the undercover report, Dan Jukes (a close aide to Farage) and James Orr (the party’s head of policy) have stepped down from their roles within the party, Sky News report.
Chair of Reform UK Lee Anderson told the outlet that the party had told Jukes and Orr to step down and that there was “no chance” of them coming back.
Orr said in a statement: “I have agreed to step down from my current role at Reform UK pending the outcome of the party’s internal investigation into the conduct of the program, with which I will cooperate fully.”
Meanwhile, Politics UK have shared a lengthy statement from Reform UK which reads: “Reform UK has been the target of a hoax perpetuated by foreign-funded, climate change activists posing as would-be party donors.
“The party denies any wrongdoing.
“Reform UK has a robust vetting process for prospective donors approved by the Electoral Commission. We also have written KC legal opinion showing no laws have been broken. A private individual paid for polling to a private company and the private company gave it to national newspapers. This would only need to be declared if it were internal polling.
“The hoaxers are ‘Verbatim Investigations’; a new company, incorporated in July 2026 in an attempt to mask their true identity: the Center for Climate Reporting (CCR). The methods of its founder, Lawrence Carter, have previously been rebuked by members of the United States Congress for ‘videos [that] appear to be substantially edited, creating an incomplete record of the conversation.’
“The group has partnered with the publicly-owned Channel 4 in an attempt to mislead the public about the party’s donations and vetting processes. The same group, led by Greenpeace’s Lawrence Carter and far-left activist Louis Wilson, were busted attempting a similar hoax in the U.S. at the end of last year. This is yet another establishment attack on Reform UK.
“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”
The investigation
The operation saw Louis Wilson from Verbatim go undercover, posing as the UK-based son of a wealthy American businessman wanting to donate to Reform UK.
The investigation focused on Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage’s Chief of Staff, and James Orr, Reform’s head of policy.
Footage shows Wilson meeting with the two men who openly admitted on camera ways to circumvent the law.
Jukes was captured saying: “Those little clandestine projects are so valuable”.
While Orr said: “The reality is we could easily get away with it”.
The investigation pivoted around a supposedly independent poll which ending up on the front page of The Telegraph which was in fact commissioned by Reform and funded with money from the undercover journalists posing as the wealthy American businessman and his son.
The public was not told that Reform UK had commissioned the polls and would be arranging for an “off the book” backer to fund them with the three polls costing £32,500 all in.
In another undercover meeting with Orr, the Reform man told Wilson, “I won’t breathe a word of this to anybody,” after saying he knew a way of getting an invoice to him.
In the report, Wilson says he then paid £18,000 from an American bank account.
Full video on investigation on Channel 4 News:
He then went on to say that he was curious to know if Farage knew about the arrangement.
The report cuts to undercover footage of Orr saying that “Nigel doesn’t know and won’t know, it’s the kind of thing he’d rather not know about.”
The climax to the report comes as Wilson sits down with Farage himself and an actor posing as his American businessman father as they discuss the donation.
After the actor says he was “thrilled to pick up the tab” for the commissioned polls, Farage responds, “yes, that was great”.
He added: “It worked, boom. For in fact a relatively modest investment. Bang for buck.”
The report then moves on to Wilson saying he had spoken to Jukes and Orr about an “illicit” donation of £500,000 to the party.
At the dinner table, it’s explained to Farage that his ‘dad’ would send the money to Wilson who would act as the registered donor in the UK.
An Instagram post by Verbatim says that they understand Jukes and Orr deny the allegations in full.
Meanwhile The Telegraph said it believed it had been “misled” and that it was reviewing its relationship with the polling company.
Speaking to Channel 4, Bob Posner, a lawyer and former Chief Executive of the UK Electoral Commission, said there should now be a criminal investigation as “serious criminal offences” may have been committed.